Nonhle Mbuthuma of the Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC), an activist and a founder of the organisation, says they are facing a lot of challenges in Xolobeni.
Mbuthuma attended a function hosted by The Green Net in Anerley last Sunday, where a documentary based on the Shell mining in Port Edward was screened.
She is one of the cast members in the documentary and explained how much it will affect the community and of the future effects.
The idea for the documentary came from the community as it was not easy for them to get their stories heard.
“We were not being heard and could not reach the media so we decided to document instead.”
According to her, this is their second documentary and it is more focused on the oil mining in the ocean.
She said the community depends on the ocean.
“The Eastern Cape, Xolobeni to be specific is known to be a poor area with a high rate of unemployment. However, we are self-employed and survive because of the ocean.”
The documentary shows a lot of community activities that help them to survive, from fishing to performing traditional rituals.
The first documentary was based on sand mining which they eventually won in court.
Mbuthuma said they are still on edge because the minister of mineral resources and energy has made an appeal, but till now they have not heard anything.
During her talk, she also mentioned the issue of the N2 route.
The ACC is not opposing the construction of the highway but is opposed to it running along the coast through community-owned land where they believe it will disturb a large part of unique, precious and the sensitive natural environment in Pondoland.
They believe that the building of the highway will trigger other developments which will further disturb the valuable land.
The people who attended the screening had an opportunity to engage with Mbuthuma and added their comments and opinions about the documentary.
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