Archbishop slams toll road

2003-12-19 18:52

Cape Town - Anglican Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane on Friday added his voice to criticisms of the plan to drive a toll road through the Wild Coast.

"While this might benefit through traffic and the trucking industry, we are convinced that it will be to the detriment of the impoverished people of Pondoland," he said in a statement.

The Wild Coast was one of the most magnificent and unspoilt coastlines in the world.

Government should rethink the scheme and come forward with a proposal that "respects the integrity of the people of the region and their natural resources," he said.

The road, which has been given the green light by the national department of environment affairs, has already come under fire from environmental NGOs and the Democratic Alliance.

Some critics have claimed the road is linked to plans by Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources to extract titanium from dunes in the Xolobeni region.

Njongonkulu too said it was clear that the proposal was largely profit-motivated.

"The mining requires a road to truck the ore to the smelter. The proposed N2 toll road will run within a few kilometres of the mine and will provide the road that is needed," he said.

However the claim was rejected in a statement, also issued on Thursday, by Transworld's empowerment partner Xolco and the South African National Roads Agency.

"Although we support government's decision on the N2, these two projects are not associated in any way. Both require their own environmental impact assessment and these will be assessed independently," said Xolco chairperson Zamile Qunya.

The highway was not a deciding factor in the viability of proposed mining operations.

"If the necessary licences are granted, the mining activities would continue whether the highway existed or not," he said.

Roads agency CEO Nazir Alli said in the same statement that much of the media debate on the project appeared to be ill-informed.

"We would like to reiterate that the proposed N2 Wild Coast Toll Road has been under consideration since the early eighties and that it is in no way linked to the proposed Xolobeni Heavy Minerals project."

He said the agency had to perform a delicate balancing act between development and the environment.

The road had been specifically designed to minimise environmental impact, while providing a mechanism for socio-economic development.

- SAPA