Pondoland residents renew struggle against mining

Pondoland residents renew struggle against mining

8 September 2003

N2 Toll Road Resolution

To The Minister of Environmental Affairs, The Hon. M.V. Moosa Taken At A Public Meeting In Kokstad

At a public meeting of Eastern Cape and East Griqualand residents held in the Kokstad Town Hall on 8th September 2003 the following resolution was unanimously passed:

WHEREAS we recognize the Government's commitment to bring development to the impoverished regions of the Eastern Cape;

AND WHEREAS we endorse the upgrading of roads and the development of communication infrastructures;

WE ARE NEVERTHELESS CONVINCED: 1. That the proposed N2 toll road between Lusikisiki and Port Edward will not benefit the local people and will be highly detrimental to the established communities of the Eastern Cape and East Griqualand;

2. That the motive for this road is not for the development of the local people and communities but profits for big business, notably engineering, trucking, mining and finance corporations;

3. That the essential practices of democracy are being undermined by this project;

4. That it would be quite immoral of the government to spend R1.9 billion (or whatever the cost is) of taxpayers money to pay for two suspension bridges, so that a private consortium can then levy the public on a toll road;

5. That taxpayers money should be used for training and development of local people and not for the economic benefit of national and multinational corporations;

6. That neither the proposed toll road nor the possibility of mining will bring meaningful employment nor sustainable opportunities for economic upliftment to the local inhabitants of the Eastern Cape. On the contrary, it could have disastrous effects on established businesses;

7. That both the mining and the road will irreparably destroy the ecotourist potential of the Pondoland Coast;

8. That both the mining and road will endanger and even destroy a quite unique botanical region. It is impossible to rehabilitate the botanical diversity found there;

9. That since the Pondoland Wild Coast is a global botanical hotspot with 180 known plant species that occur nowhere else in the world, and its quite exceptional features include three major and five smaller waterfalls that tumble straight into the ocean, the Government's responsibility is to protect and preserve this unique area for our children;

10. That the Pondoland Wild Coast, and certainly Mkambati, is so exceptional it should be granted the status of a World Heritage Site;

11. That the government should clearly explain to the public of the towns in the region how they foresee this road bringing economic benefits to the poor and the general public that an upgrading of the present roads will not achieve.

WE THEREFORE RESOLVE TO REQUEST THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS, THE HON. M V MOOSA, TO:

1. Reject the Wild Coast Consortium's unsolicited bid to build the N2 Toll Road through the "greenfields section" alongside the proposed Pondoland Park;

2. Reject any attempts to mine in the area proposed for the Pondoland Park;

3. Upgrade the present roads and build sensitive and discrete roads for ecotourist development instead of destructive motorways;

4. Explore alternative routes for the N2 and consult local communities regarding the development of roads;

5. Spend public funds on upgrading existing roads and developing people rather than paying for two costly bridges for private companies;

6. Establish the Pondoland Park as a matter or urgency;

7. Declare the proposed Pondoland Park a World Heritage Site.

Further information contact:
Bryan Ashe bryan@earthlife.org.za bryan@mweb.co.za

Website: www.earthlife-ct.org.za