The Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) has been struggling since 2007 to preserve the way of life and livelihoods on the Amadiba coast. Initially, that struggle was directed against an Australian mining company’s plan to mine titanium on our land. Today, while ACC is still fighting the mining company and vested mining interests inside the state, our land is also under another threat. 

ACC is campaigning to convince the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the government not to route the new N2 Wild Coast Toll Highway on the Amadiba coast but to put it inland. This has led us to propose an alternative inland route. ACC is assisted by friendly road engineers and other experts to bring the N2 issue into the public eye once again. 

The Amadiba coast: a vibrant local economy in a precious ecosystem

The Amadiba coast, in the Eastern Cape (EC), is renowned for its stunning natural beauty and rich biodiversity. This region is not only home to unique flora and fauna. It also holds significant cultural, economic, and historical value for the local communities. Economically, the fertile land on the coast provides food security to over 800 households, who sell surpluses to the market in Durban and elsewhere. The local economy is also boosted by successful ecotourism. The community-run Mtentu Lodge has over 2,000 visitors per year. 

As Amadiba Crisis Committee, we argue that all of that—the local economy, the social fabric and our still functional system of traditional land governance—is undermined by the coastal route for the new N2 highway. That route is planned to run as close as 2.5km to 3km from the coastline, right through Bekela, Mdatya and Sigidi villages.

In addition, and not least, the coastal alignment of the N2 highway would disrupt the ecosystem, leading to irreversible environmental damage and loss of heritage in a region known internationally as the Pondoland Centre of Endemism. The region contains high numbers of endemic species—species that occur nowhere else in the world.

This is why there has been a conflict about the authorised coastal alignment of the new N2 for over two decades. This conflict has also raged inside the Eastern Cape government, as shown by a 2004 letter to the Eastern Cape Director of Biodiversity & Coastal Management. The author, Dr Div de Villiers at the Eastern Cape Department of Environmental Affairs, warned the Biodiversity Management Director in Bisho of a coming “internal outcry” if the route wasn’t changed. He suggested that the N2 should enter the Amadiba area some 18km from the coast—in fact, at the same place where the Alternative Inland Route (AIR) today is suggested to enter into its ‘green fields section’ by ACC. 

In 2021, ACC put together a simple terms of reference—“Put the N2 in the Centre of Amadiba and Fix our Local Roads”. We then engaged a technical team of friendly road engineers, spatial and social planners, geographers and economists to work out the concrete alternative route for the road.

The origins of the conflict

The first documented sign of conflict between the coastal Amadiba communities and Sanral is a June 2010 speech at Xolobeni Komkhulu (traditional court) by ACC’s late chair, Bazooka Radebe (who was assassinated on 22 March 2016). Bazooka said they had put the N2 on the coast only to support the ‘Xolobeni Mining Project’. He demanded that the highway be moved inland.

Fast forward to 6 April 2017: Sanral’s then CEO, Skhumbuzo Macozoma, visited Komkhulu because the villagers were preventing N2 contractors from working on the coast—the encounter, in a packed Komkhulu hall, is captured in the documentary “Ihlazo” (Disgrace).  

The role of the Amadiba Crisis Committee

Starting as a Komkhulu elected committee in 2007, ACC is today a social movement in Amadiba. We campaign to protect our land. We inform the community. We engage in legal battles. We organise protests and rallies. We work to raise awareness locally, nationally and internationally. To the broader public, we say ACC’s efforts highlight the importance of community-led advocacy in environmental, local economy and social justice issues.

In 2010, it slowly started to become clear in Amadiba that the N2 was planned to run on the coast. ACC then became a vocal and organised force against the proposed route, in addition to campaigning against the ‘Xolobeni Mining Project’. 

Proposing an alternative inland route

The grey route is the coastal route that ACC is fighting against. The red route is the alternative route ACC is proposing.

After three meetings with ACC’s technical team, in March 2023, Sanral disappeared, despite the agreement that the next meeting should discuss the proposed alignment through Lurholweni. The ACC then went public with the proposal for an Alternative Inland Route (AIR) for the N2 highway. The AIR aims to balance the need for infrastructure development with the protection of the Amadiba coast and its local economy. By suggesting an inland route, ACC hopes to achieve several key objectives:

1. Environmental preservation: it would minimise the highway’s ecological footprint, preserving the coastal environment and its biodiversity. Sanral’s coastal route would make a footprint much bigger than the 80m-wide road reserve. Ribbon development along it would start, like everywhere, where a new main road is built in the Eastern Cape. Land administration has collapsed in the province.  
2. Community Protection: it would protect local communities from displacement, loss of their cultural heritage, losses to their agricultural economy and disruption of ecotourism on the coast. It would prevent the Amadiba coast from developing into a township.
3. Sustainable Development: it would present an opportunity for sustainable development that aligns with the long-term interests of both the local population in Amadiba and the broader region of Mbizana in better communications. Putting the new N2 in the centre of Amadiba allows for many more connections with local roads.
4. Jobs and the economy: it would provide more jobs in Amadiba, including in the Lurholweni township, in the short- and the long-term. The AIR includes Lurholweni in the N2 project by upgrading the R61 that runs through the township and fixing its internal road network.
5. The budget: according to ACC’s technical team, it would be significantly cheaper to build than the coastal N2 alignment, approved in 2011. The AIR requires much lower bridges in rural Amadiba. Two-thirds of it would be built on already existing roads.

ACC held positive meetings about this in 2022 and at the end of 2023 with the Department of Environment, the National Treasury and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

Public support and awareness

Today, the ACC proposal also has widespread support in inland Amadiba. Over 1,100 residents have discussed the proposal at community meetings and imbizos in 2023 and 2024. A popular presentation in isiMpondo and English has been widely distributed. An imbizo, in inland Dangeni Komkhulu on 4 April 2024, once again discussed the demands of villagers affected by the building of the Mtentu mega bridge. The imbizo also declared its support for the alternative inland route. 

The community of Jama, by the Mtentu bridge, chased away Sanral’s contractors, Aveng-Strabag, at the end of October 2018. Hitherto, unknown videos from this historic event (that concerned broken promises of local employment) here.

The proposal has been presented by ACC and its technical team to the national Department of Environmental Affairs (July 2022), to the National Treasury (November 2023) and to the officials of the Infrastructure SA programme at the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (December 2023), where flaws in the 2009 Environmental Impact Assessment for the original route, and two old studies from 2002 and 2008, were pointed out. 

The proposal should now get attention and support from environmental organisations, human rights groups, and concerned citizens. The campaign emphasises the need for responsible development that respects both the rights of Indigenous communities and the environment. Public awareness and pressure are crucial in convincing Sanral and government authorities to consider the inland route seriously. 

The Amadiba Crisis Committee’s dedication to protecting our land and promoting development for the economically marginalised majority should serve as a powerful example of community resilience and environmental stewardship. We argue strongly that our proposal for the N2 highway is a call for a balanced approach to development in the Eastern Cape—one that values social justice, economic and communication progress and protection of South Africa’s crucial biodiversity areas and that leaves nobody behind. 

Call to action

Supporting the ACC’s campaign can take many forms, from raising awareness on social media to participating in advocacy events and engaging with policymakers. By standing with the Amadiba Crisis Committee, you can help ensure that development projects respect and protect the invaluable natural and cultural heritage in traditional regions like Amadiba. 

As the ACC continues to advocate for its cause, it is imperative for the broader public to support our efforts and recognise the importance of sustainable and economically inclusive infrastructure planning.

Nonhle Mbuthuma and Cromwell Sonjica are members of the Amadiba Crisis Committee’s Executive Committee.