Amadiba Crisis Committee press statement 1 November
Today, Sanral’s “community expert” Dr Mongezi Noah and N2 Wild Coast Toll Road consultant, Mr Ntsizakalo Ngalo, left a community meeting organised by the Njanda and Ngwenyeni villages in Khanyayo, by Mtentu river in Eastern Cape. They did not want to negotiate any demands on Sanral about N2. The meeting asked them to leave after an hour and half discussion.
The demands on Sanral were given to Ngalo and Noah by hand on 3 October for answer on 12 October. Meeting the affected villages again 13 October they said they had not read the document. The date was then set to 1 November.
Instead of addressing the demands, today’s delegation from Sanral put down rules. Mr Ngalo said that the community must ask Sanral for permission to speak to the media, like about today’s meeting. People must first speak with Sanral’s Mr Vusi Mona. It was pointed out to Mr Ngalo that freedom of speech is in the Constitution of South Africa.
In the beginning of September community leaders in Khanyayo called to ACC for help with lawyers and negotiations. The villages had then blocked building of access roads for 3 weeks. Sanral had broken promises of jobs and put down unacceptable conditions for relocation of homesteads and exhuming of graves.
The building of the R1.8 billion Mtentu N2 bridge is supposed to start soon. The commu today told Sanral that there will be no work done until the issues are resolved.
The community chose Nonhle Mbuthuma to chair the meeting. It took the Sanral delegation one hour to accept this and the presence of Attorney Thamsanqa Malusi. “Why are you bringing lawyers and Mbuthuma here?! Where did Sanral fail you?”, Sanral’s Odwa Dilizo tried. The answer was: “Every time we make an agreement with you, it goes nowhere. We have realised we need support from people with knowledge of law and experience of you.” But after this, Sanral refused to discuss the demands.
When Sanral left, a visiting delegation from Kwanyuswa told their story about N2 and said they have similar and same demands. This community outside Lusikisiki (Ward 21) had tried to stop the works of contractors. Some leaders were now interdicted from coming closer than 200m to the road building.
An astonished community watched eight police officers in two cars brandishing rifles, stopping and searching the two cars of Kwanyuswa and Amadiba when they were leaving the meeting. “They were doing their job”, the police officers said.