An apartheid-era homeland decree, which has been declared invalid, is still being used to prevent people from using land on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast. The Transkei Environmental Conservation Act 9, Decree of 1992, was designed to prohibit the construction of any structure within 1km of the coastline. Now, the Eastern Cape Department of Environmental Affairs is using it to prevent people from building homesteads on communal land close to the ocean.
The world-renowned wild coast is a tourism jewel and an important cog in the government’s blue economy plan. But the resurfacing of the decree and its exclusionist nature, are taking the shine off this jewel.
“This Department since 1994 was never, never transformed, was never, never transformed. Whites are still getting more privilege than us a Black here in our area,” says Community Leader, Mncedisi Ntsila.
Resident Patrick Nomarhobo adds: “We were hoping to develop, making B&B’s and small hotels and all kinds those things and also looking on the side of ocean economy but because of this department that stopped this access road we are in deep pain we do not know what to now.”
Eastern Cape’s Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC, Mcedisi Mvoko, has slammed the use of the invalid decree by officials in his department.
“We do not believe in this day and age, there is a decree that could actually remove our people from that side, closer to the sea where they could actually benefit and develop move them away, considering that on the other hand, we have another programme, a programme on oceans economy so it talks against the programme of oceans economy. So we have given ourselves a time frame of a month to get the portfolio committee the get the recommendations from our department to invite the minister and have a round table discussion as to how we could actually deal with that decree,” says Mvoko.
Legal experts have implored the provincial government to rectify the situation to avoid unnecessary litigation.
“The issue of the removal of our people along the Wild Coast is unlawful, unconstitutional and discriminatory because the problem with that removal it concentrates only on Black people and unfortunately the Transkei Environmental Conservation 9 Decree of 1992 is invalid because the High Court Local Division in Mthatha declared that act invalid,” says legal expert, Zincedile Tiya.
Plans to grow the oceans economy have identified Port St. Johns as one of the development nodes.
The aim is to stimulate economic development in this impoverished region.
