http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=492&fArticleId=vn20100602145659883C...

ANC outrage at toll roads
2 June 2010
By Arthi Sanpath and Bheki Mbanjwa

Opposition to toll roads in the Durban area is building to tsunami proportions as the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal urged motorists to avoid the new King Shaka International Airport toll.

It also said it was flabbergasted at the tolling decisions, including the proposed booths on the N2 just south of Durban. In its most damning criticism yet of the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), ANC provincial secretary, Sihle Zikalala, said people should use the alternative route (R102) to and from the airport.

The party's provincial executive committee this week also said the idea of erecting a toll road near Amanzimtoti was ill-conceived, one that would impact negatively on commuters.

It criticised Sanral for not consulting stakeholders such as the eThekwini Municipality and the KwaZulu-Natal government.

"The ANC is flabbergasted by Sanral's approach of constructing tollgates without even consulting the people who are affected by such tollgates. The ANC in KZN will continue to engage the national Minister of Transport, S'bu Ndebele, with a view to stopping the construction of the proposed tollgate," Zikalala said.

"The only real and sustainable industry that can uplift and feed the communities in the areas of Pondoland and Transkei, is Tourism. All the natural assets are there to be managed correctly. The surest and quickest way to destroy a world renowned wilderness area is to cut a highway through its heart." -Fred Orban

For those interested, the attached N2_petition-email.pdf was submitted and officially accepted by the department yesterday. (This "public" version attached herewith has had the email addresses stripped out for obvious reasons.)

As at 19 May 2010 - 9:00AM - 1711 people had signed the Petition at www.wildcoast.co.za/ict4d/petition.

CASABio (Collaborative Archive of South African Biodiversity) is an NGO dedicated to the conservation of the earth's species.

Their bottom line is: get involved!!!
It's one way you CAN help protect our natural heritage.

CASABIO have submitted the following protest posters against the destruction of our Pondoland Center of Endemism:

Sign the Petition at www.wildcoast.co.za/ict4d/petition before the close of business on Tuesday 18 May 2010!

Watch 50/50 on Monday 10 May, SABC2 at 19:30: interview with Bishop Geoff Davies about the N2 toll road.Bishop Geoff Davies - 6 May 2010
http://safcei.blogspot.com/2010/05/wild-coast-mining-and-toll-road.html

The Wild Coast continues to be under threat from both the application to undertake sand dune mining and the N2 toll highway. The record of decision (ROD) for the N2 toll road was released on 19 April. It is stated that objections need to be made before 19th May. We are asking for an extension to this deadline but we are also told that DEAT is requiring a notice of intention to appeal. We attach this notice. We write now to ask that if you are registered as an Interested and Affected Party (I&AP) and wish to appeal, that you send in this form.

Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) will shortly issue a brief outline regarding our concerns. We believe it best if comments come from a denomination or a congregation or a faith community, though an individual may also object. If you are not registered as an I&AP but wish to object, please do it through SAFCEI. We will include your appeal with ours.

Please sign the petition online here:

www.wildcoast.co.za/ict4d/petition.

Development, for the people of Pondoland, does not depend solely on the N2 toll road passing through the greenfields of this fragile biosphere.

However the continued existence of the PCE does, without a doubt, depend on it not doing so.

Please sign this petition and forward it to everyone you can.

Read more here: www.wildcoast.co.za/tollroad

Thank you.

2010/04/23
Taralyn Bro The Weekend Post

THE N2 Wild Coast Toll Road has moved one step closer to becoming a reality after the government this week gave its construction a tentative thumbs-up.

The issuing on Monday of a record of decision by the Department of Environmental Affairs authorising construction of the road is the latest in a long line of action – or inaction – around the mega-billion-rand project. Objectors now have less than a month to say why they believe construction should not go ahead. The authorisation has been granted as long as environmental concerns raised in the final environmental impact assessment report – released in December – are heeded.

More than 7800 submissions from the public were included in the report, which was started afresh in 2007 by CCA Environmental (Pty) Ltd after the original EIA was shelved in 2004.

If approved, the project will extend over roughly 560km between the N2 Gonubie interchange and the N2 Isipingo interchange (south of Durban).

Twenty-five new tolls will be built, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal.

The new route will be about 75km shorter than the existing N2 via Kokstad. Building cost was estimated at R6.4-billion in 2007.

PRESS RELEASE 12 -04 -2010

N2 TOLL ROAD - GOVERNMENT APPEARS OBLIVIOUS TO THE COMPLEXITY OF REAL ISSUES AT STAKE

A recent parliamentary response to questions about the N2 Toll Road, posed to the Minister of Transport, shows the government has a deeply flawed understanding of the broader issues surrounding the N2 Toll road debacle. The Minister’s response suggests a government that is stuck in an inflexible time warp, basing its decisions on outdated, vastly flawed and unsustainable development projects that were conceived of in the early 90's, under scenarios vastly different from the situation that prevails today.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO 743

DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: 30 MARCH 2010

DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: MONDAY, 15 MARCH 2010 (INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: NO 7 – 2010)

Mr G R Morgan (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:

(1) Whether the proposed development of the N2 Wild Coast Toll highway is being done in conjunction with a broader spatial planning process for the areas that will be impacted by the road; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) (a) how will the proposal for the new road benefit the broader development objectives of the area and (b) what are the negative effects of the proposed road in respect of the broader development objectives of the area?

N2 Toll: Proposed route (Mostly existing road)

THE decade-long N2 Wild Coast Tollroad debate was re-ignited this week with the release of a new – and final – environmental impact assessment.

Over 7800 submissions from the public were included in the report, which started afresh in 2007 by CCA Environmental (Pty) Ltd after an original EIA was shelved in 2004 when it was found that the “independent” environmental consultants had financial links with companies that hoped to build the road.

By Tony Carnie

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize has re-iterated his opposition to the proposed N2 Wild Coast toll road, saying more tollgates in the Durban area will cause further financial hardship for commuters and slow down economic growth.

Reacting to the news that the proposed N2 toll had been given another green light after an environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, Mkhize said the KZN Provincial government had always been opposed to the proposed Wild Coast toll road, especially the proposed toll gate at Isipingo.

The Premier noted that there was general agreement in the legislature that all political parties should speak with one voice in opposing this tollgate and he promised to make an official announcement later this week on how the legislature would respond to the latest EIA recommendation.

Daily News - 5 March 2010

Related Article:

* Toll tariffs to rise

The N2 Wild Coast toll road project has been given another green light after a decade-long controversy, but final approval could still be thwarted by strong opposition from Durban, the KZN legislature and other interest groups.

Road-kill

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327236.700-roads-are-ruining-the...

The Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism have issued an Environmental Authorisation (EA) for the establishment of a 132kV substation at Zwelethu (near Bizana) and 2 x 132kV lines to feed the South Coast, Bizana & Xolobeni region.

A copy of the EA can be downloaded here: Eros_Port_Edward-Environmental_Authorisation_13Aug09.pdf

Anyone wishing to appeal any aspect of this decision must lodge a notice of intention to appeal with the Minister of DEAT by the 28th August 2009. Further details are contained in the EA.

It's futile and counter-productive to protest progress and future energy requirements, obviously; but as can be seen from the attached diagrams the approved power line on the Eastern Cape side comes directly to the north perimeter of the proposed Xolobeni mining tenement, and from there runs adjacent to the proposed N2. That's called central planning 1-2-3.
Xolobeni N2: Click on the map for full size view (1.5Mb)

But to put this in perspective one has to realize that the entire South Coast runs on 2 x 88kV power lines, and this huge upgrade of the total current capacity is aimed at urbanizing and industrializing the Pondoland Center of Endemism along the path of the N2 toll road; which after all is the planned macro-economic future for the area. Objections, eco-tourism and the environment be damned.

Scientists in South Africa discover 18 new spider, snail and worm species

From www.guardian.co.uk
By David Smith in Johannesburg
Tuesday 18 August 2009

Scientists surveying a nature reserve in South Africa have discovered 18 previously unrecorded species of invertebrates, including spiders, snails, millipedes, earthworms and centipedes.

The trove of creatures was uncovered in eight days by researchers and volunteers working for the environmental charity Earthwatch at the Mkhambathi nature reserve on the spectacular Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape.

However, scientists warned that planned developments in the area could threaten the ecosystem and deny them the chance to identify further species.

Jan Venter, an ecologist working for Eastern Cape Parks, which manages the reserve, said that the 29 square mile area had previously attracted only ad hoc surveys and butterfly collectors.

"To get so many species in one survey shows the importance of the reserve. It's a very special area, conservation-wise. If we do another survey, we'll find just as many." The team suspects that another 18 species might be discovered.

The Lorax was written and illustrated by Theodore (Dr. Seuss) Giesel in 1971 as a colorful childrens book, with a biting satirical message - for adults and children alike - about mankind's ability to invade and destroy his natural environment. It is a pointed commentary on the expansion of the logging industry in the early 70s that is even more relevant today than it was 38 years ago when he created it.

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

By Hilary Venables

Radio reports that the controversial Wild Coast toll road has been approved are not only premature, but part of a deliberate campaign of disinformation by certain members of government, according to opponents of the scheme.

The SABC carried the claim in a succession of both English and Xhosa bulletins last Sunday, basing it on comments made by the Minister of Co-Operative Governance, Sicelo Shiceka. It’s the second time in a month that the national broadcaster has reported Shiceka as saying the toll road has been given the official go-ahead.

In fact, no decision has yet been made. A spokesperson for the Department of Water and the Environment, which has yet to consider the application, confirmed that they were still waiting for the report on the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Social worker John Clarke, a spokesperson for Sustain the Wild Coast and the Amadiba Crisis Committee, said certain politicians were deliberately spreading misinformation.

“They use radio because they know most of the people are illiterate. They are abusing the customary respect which traditional people show to their leaders. This is an act of desperation – they are breaking a bond of trust.”

Media liaison officer for the Shiceka’s department, Vuyelwa Vika, insists her boss was misquoted.

“When he said the road would go ahead, he was saying that it must go ahead, because it’s an opportunity we can’t miss … it’s important for development in the area,” she said.

The road, and the proposed titanium mine which it is being built primarily to serve, are the subjects of a well-documented and long-running dispute that has pitted the mining company and sympathetic politicians against the local community, environmentalists, social workers and the KwazuluNatal provincial government.

Opponents want economic development in the area to be oriented towards tourism, small farming and “green” jobs which they say will provide sustainable livelihoods, while the mine will destroy nearby farms and natural habitat and leave a toxic wasteland when it closes down in a couple of decades.

But Vika claimed that the road now had the approval of the community, including AmaMpondo King Mpondombini Sigcau and Queen MaSobhuza Sigcau, who have long been staunch opponents of both the mine and the proposed route of the road.

“The minister was in the area two weeks ago, and he invited the King and Queen to a private function at his homestead,” Vika said.

“They discussed the toll road and the King and Queen said they want the project to go ahead.”

This is not how Queen Sicgau remembers it.

“We did attend the function, but we hardly spoke to the minister. We arrived late and had to leave soon after so we only spent five minutes talking to him. We didn’t discuss the toll road with him,” she told me.

“We have never been approached by the minister regarding the toll road.”

She also said that the royal couple’s position had not changed on either the road or the mine.

Community activist Nontshiza Pasika was adamant that the community was as opposed to the road as ever.

“If this road was meant for the people, it would connect villages to clinics and schools and farmers to the market. But we can see it’s being built for the mine.

“The mine is a spectre hanging over us. Until they separate the road from the mine, we will oppose the road.’ – enviromedianews.co.za

What Shiceko really said
The transcript of the news bulletin shows that the SABC was indeed liberal in its translation of Shiceka’s words.

According to the news as read: “Government has given the green light for the controversial N2 toll road stretching through the Wild Coast to go ahead. This, despite objections from Non Governmental Organisations, environmentalists, local communities and the KwaZulu/Natal government.”

This is followed by actuality of Shiceka speaking: “We are saying the N2 Road is going ahead , we are going to ensure that those who are opposed to it must engage with us, but we must make sure that this thing is going ahead, We have heard that the municipal manager of eThekwini in KwaZulu Natal is opposed to it, we will engage him, or any other person. The NGOs if they are opposed to it they must provide jobs for the people, but we believe the traditional leaders and traditional communities they are supporting and behind this thing. It is going to go ahead.”

Which is not quite the same thing, but given the scale of the opposition, it certainly reveal a remarkable level of confidence on Siceka’s part. – enviromedianews.co.za

2009/06/08

GOVERNMENT has approved plans for the construction of a toll route through the Wild Coast in the face of fierce opposition from environmentalists and the royal house of AmaMpondo.

The project, initially intended to take off some 10 years ago, has been stalled by objections from Pondoland communities whose homes the road will cut through, and from environmentalists who fear the ecological impact.

Environmentalists are also concerned a portion of the road between Lusikisiki and Port Edward will bisect the Pondoland Centre of Endemism (PCE) sections of the proposed Wild Coast/Pondoland National Park.

The approval of the project, by Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka, was justified by the economic spin-offs in an area of severe poverty and disease.

Departmental spokesperson Vuyelwa Vika said the toll road, which will start from Buffalo City and go through Transkei to Isipingo south of Durban, had strong business appeal, and constant delays were detrimental only to communities along the proposed route.

“After visiting the area and witnessing for himself the poverty and disease that exists in that area, the minister felt that the people had suffered great neglect since there has been no significant development in the past 15 years,” she said.

Vika said people could not continue living in hope after repeated promises of development.

“There will be a consultation process, to be complete within the next three months, during which stakeholders, including communities, environmentalists and everyone who has ever raised issues about the development, will be consulted,” she said .

She added that all legal actions brought against government for the project also would be sorted out by then.

During construction the road is expected to generate about 6800 direct and up to 21300 indirect jobs, with 900 of them permanent.

About 18000 indirect jobs are expected to exist after the road was built.

Kings in the area have voiced their unhappiness over the construction , calling it an invasion of natural land lush with natural flora, fauna and the site of the graves of their forefathers.

They had also vigorously resisted the mining of a 23km strip of land in Xolobeni, with threats to go to court to stop it with a human rights body joining in the fray.

The road was regarded as paving the way for the mining project.

Attempts to get their comment on the pending construction were unfruitful yesterday.

“By the end of the year a decision on the mining project would have been reached, so that if it does not continue alternative developmental projects must be put in place,” Vika said.

Yesterday the Sustaining the Wild Coast (SWC) initiative vigorously opposed to the construction of the road, said the three months consultation process was not only impractical but a recipe for disaster.

Land rights activist and SWC community co-ordinator Pasika Nontshiza said: “This is ridiculous, they would not have completed consultation for a project which will erode 85km of endemic species, from where people get their plants and herbs.”

He said the community they claimed to be concerned about had received no responses to their concerns on the future of the existing projects, from which they derived an income.

“They are not against development, but they do not know what they gain from this,” he said.

He added that by announcing his decision through the media, the minister was violating the “code of consultation”, and repeating mistakes that had led to the opposition of the project.

He said that the promise of jobs was a tool used by the authorities to bolster their position.

“We have jobs that are in harmony with nature – why can’t they be boosted?”

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), under whom the project falls, yesterday said safeguarding and protecting endemic species formed part of their plan, as did alleviating poverty and empowering communities.

“The process has taken too long, but we had to follow all legal processes,” Sanral CEO Nazir Ali said.

He said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which they had been asked to re-do, was almost ready, they were just processing public and community input.

“In the meantime poverty levels have deepened,” he added.

Agreeing that the project was lucrative, and would provide much needed jobs, the Democratic Alliance’s national transport spokesperson, Stuart Farrow, said it should not be undertaken at the expense of the people and environment.

“Consultation with the communities should be extensive … and the EIA should be taken into consideration to ensure that no vegetation is wiped out,” he said.

He added that although the project meant a new and improved road, a single trip could cost drivers R250 from East London to Durban, although regular travellers could apply for an exemption.

The road would also bypass a number of small towns, including Bizana, Flagstaff and Kokstad.

“Will they survive the economic impact of this or will they die?” Farrow asked. - By NTANDO MAKHUBU

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=321370

I commented recently about the cabinet ministry changes, and made a similar comment about Buyelwa Sonjica (who is now Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs) and her obvious pro-industrialization inclinations, so I think it's fairly appropriate to post  Tonie Carnie's article published in The Mercury on 13 May 2009.

Gamekeepers versus poachers in new cabinet May 13, 2009 Edition 1 By Tony Carnie

President Jacob Zuma's decision to separate some of the "poacher" and "gamekeeper" cabinet ministries seems to make a lot of sense at the structural level, but the proof of the pudding remains in the eating.

It can be argued that environmental affairs and tourism belong in one ministry because they are closely linked, but there has always been inherent tension between regulating and protecting the environment on one hand and the simultaneous promotion of the commercial imperatives of the tourism sector.

The same goes for the former union between water affairs and forestry. Protecting our precious water resources also sits uncomfortably with promoting commercial timber plantations, which suck up scarce water and land.

A somewhat similar scenario of lumping poachers and gamekeepers in one ministry was also apparent in the traditional union between minerals and energy affairs - now separated into two ministries.

For too long, the minerals sector (often representing the interests of mining giants such as Anglo American, Kumba and BHP Billiton, or the powerful oil and fossil fuel lobby) has been the senior partner in the incestuous marriage with energy affairs.

Hopefully, the separation will open up the space for the development of cleaner, renewable energy options such as wind, solar and wave energy in the new era of global climate change - though it is unlikely that the "poachers" will fail to guard their strategic turf any less assiduously under the new alignment of cabinet ministries.

Yet it seems rather ominous that water seems to have assumed senior partner status in the new Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs.

It may be a matter of semantics as to which function gets top billing in the title, but elevating "water" above "environment" seems to be an indication that the protection of the environment continues to play second fiddle to economic growth and the utilitarian value of water.  Clean water, clean air and unpolluted soil are all children of the broader environmental parent - not the other way around. It's a bit like creating a ministry of catholic and religious Affairs, which deliberately assumes dominance by the Catholics and relegates the Islamic, Hindu or Anglican faith branches into positions of subservience.

And what, if anything, can be read into the choice of personalities to head the realigned ministries and departments?

Marthinus van Schalkwyk certainly seems to have been booted into the sidelines with his appointment as tourism minister. No longer will he enjoy centre stage at the forthcoming world climate change talks in Copenhagen, despite exceeding the expectations of several observers during his tenure as environment minister.

In his place, Buyelwa Sonjica has been named Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. Some observers have commented disparagingly about Sonjica's previous position as minerals and energy minister, particularly in relation to the Wild Coast dune mining saga. Sonjica blotted her copybook in the eyes of several environmentalists with her vocal support for the Xolobeni dune mining venture, and worsened this with her crass, racial attack on human rights and labour attorney Richard Spoor, who has acted on behalf of several (black) Xolobeni residents opposed to the mining plan.

Racial identity should not play any role in raising awareness about the crucial need to protect our deteriorating life-support system - but hopefully Sonjica will now contribute to breaking down some of the abiding perceptions that environmental protection remains the domain of "rich whiteys".

More to the point, however, it remains to be seen whether Zuma's cabinet will elevate the profile of environmental custodianship or continue to deepen the ruts in the narrow and well-trodden pathway towards economic "progress".

January 29, 2009 press statement by SWC. For immediate release.

Flood of Objections to Wild Coast Toll Road

An unprecedented flood of thousands of objections has poured in to the consultants tasked with writing the final Report on the Wild Coast Toll Road EIA, despite holiday season timing for public comment.

The submissions have come from individuals, communities, businesses,
environmental organisations and civil society groups, while in Durban, where road users are protesting extra toll booths, local government have joined the chorus.

Many of the comments have described the EIAR as ‘fatally flawed” in many ways, but particularly in its lack of compliance with required legal standards and adherence to public participation norms.

It also

The deadline for public comments on the new N2 Wild Coast Toll road EIA is 22 January.

Please send your comments to:

Theo Hansford
NMA Effective Social Strategists (Pty) Ltd.
Box 32097
Braamfontein, 2017.
Fax: 086 601 0381
Email: theoh@nma.org.za

A number of requests were received from people who wished to send in comments against the N2 toll road proposal and in support of SWC (Sustaining the Wild Coast - www.swc.org.za) principles. Val Payn compiled the following (below) for general use. Please feel free to adapt or adjust it however you see fit. You can delete anything you don't personally agree with, or feel free to add any of your own comments that you feel it does not cover, or are more suitable for your own circumstances. You're also welcome to 'personalize' the wording in whatever way you like. However, if you would like to send it exactly as it is, then it is recommended that you include a 'provisio' along the lines of:-