SANRAL STATEMENT ON AMADIBA CRISIS COMMITTEE ARTICLE IN THE MAIL & GUARDIAN
Gqeberha, 3 December 2025 – The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) has noted with bemusement an article, titled SANRAL must stop sabotaging engagement with the people of Amadiba, that appears in the 2 December 2025 online edition of the Mail & Guardian.
SANRAL is bemused by the assertions made in the article, attributed to the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), because not only are they factually incorrect, but also quite ironic because the timing of the article coincides with the very same engagements that SANRAL has been holding with the ACC, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Committee in Transport (PCOT).
Over the past week alone, SANRAL has held two engagement sessions with the ACC: The first one was held on 24 November 2025, and the second one was held today (3 December 2025). The session held on 24 November was a follow up to a petition to the Portfolio Committee on Transport (PCOT) by the ACC, for the ACC and SANRAL to engage further on the issues raised in the petition, as a constructive basis for moving ahead.
“As a point of departure, SANRAL would like to assert that the sessions we’ve been holding with Amadiba Crisis Committee are being held in good faith. As we’re sitting here today, there’s an article which appears in the Mail and Guardian, and which represents the petition and the issues that were raised in our meeting last month (24 November 2025). We raise this because, when we engage in sessions such as this one, we all respect one another in these discussions and that the matters in discussions we have with each other take place in a protected and mutually respected environment. For such discussions to be then taken to the media, and to be reported in such a way that only the views of the ACC are represented is not only a misrepresentation of SANRAL’s views, but the posture of the article is also not objective. This means, therefore, that as we engage among ourselves, there is an ongoing PR exercise that is being coordinated by the ACC with some sections of the media,” said SANRAL Board Chairperson Themba Mhambi.
One of the key matters that are highlighted in the Mail & Guardian article is the mid-term review that has been proposed by the ACC. This matter was proposed by the ACC in the meeting of 24 November.
The article states that since 2021, the ACC has worked with independent engineers and planners to design an alternative N2 route that shifts the highway 10 – 12km inland. The article further states that the mid-term review is technically sound, less socially disruptive and better aligned with local road networks. Government departments and specialists have not challenged its viability, yet SANRAL refuses a mid-term review, the article further states.
What legislation informs this “mid-term review,” SANRAL asks.
“The requested “mid-term review” is not legislated and it is already effectively addressed through existing oversight and review mechanisms. The kind of review envisaged in the proposed mid-term review constitutes acts already taken by SANRAL’s management in fulfilment of its accounting responsibilities to the Board, the Minister of Transport, Portfolio Committee on Transport, National Treasury and the Auditor General of South Africa. SANRAL shall, therefore, not undertake a process outside its normal government processes, but is willing to incorporate any useful inputs to enhance its regular review of its operations. Accordingly, SANRAL shall not suspend any of its current and planned operations in favour of the proposed mid-term review,” said Mhambi.
Mhambi further added: “In terms of consultation with relevant stakeholders and affected parties, SANRAL has a system of social facilitation, among other and land acquisition, inclusive of routine and regular engagement with local government authorities, traditional authorities, individual persons, organised community formations and organised business, among others. The Eastern Cape Provincial Government has further established a Political Oversight Committee (POC) which convenes with various stakeholders for regular updates and discussions on matters of importance pertaining to the project. It must be underscored that the POC is the only one established for the N2 Wild Coast Road Project for this area. That signifies how committed and steadfast SANRAL is in engaging all stakeholders in Amadiba area in its entirety. The Amadiba community, inclusive of its traditional leader, Chief Baleni, have been a regular part of the engagements referred to in the fore going statements. SANRAL is therefore of the view that the Amadiba Crisis Committee should participate in the various consultations and engagements which constitutes part of the social facilitation of the project. We rather propose that the Crisis Committee engages meaningfully to the existing stakeholder committees”.
SANRAL reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of the N2 Wild Coast Road Project, as well as its commitment to strengthen community beneficiation initiatives and rigorously apply environmental safeguards under the existing statutory oversight and review mechanisms.
-ENDS-