The ANC in the Western Cape has moved to challenge Cape Town’s controversial N2 Safety Project, calling on the City to put the plan on ice until an independent social impact assessment is conducted and broader community engagement takes place.
The party’s intervention comes after Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis released a video claiming residents living along the N2 corridor were fully behind the proposed safety wall. That assertion has been flatly rejected by the ANC, which says the process has excluded key voices, particularly those from poorer and historically marginalised communities bordering the highway.
Provincial ANC spokesperson Akhona Jonginamba said the suggestion of blanket support was misleading, insisting there was visible resistance from residents, civic bodies and community organisations who remain unconvinced about the project’s purpose and impact, as reported by the Cape Argus.
According to Jonginamba, many locals see the wall as a symbol of division rather than protection, warning that it could deepen existing inequalities by physically separating wealthier suburbs from working-class neighbourhoods instead of tackling crime at its source.
He argued that lasting safety along the N2 would require a broader, people-centred approach, including youth development initiatives, job opportunities, better lighting, strengthened community policing and efforts to rebuild trust and cohesion in affected areas.
The ANC has also questioned the effectiveness of physical barriers, saying they often shift criminal activity elsewhere rather than reducing it, while giving a misleading sense of security and further isolating communities already on the margins. The party has urged the City to rethink its priorities and focus funding on measures aimed at reducing inequality and improving long-term safety outcomes.
In contrast, Hill-Lewis maintains that the N2 Safety Project is designed to protect motorists, pedestrians and nearby residents. His video highlights a series of reported crimes along the highway and outlines plans to fix and strengthen an existing barrier, upgrade lighting and add new pedestrian crossings.
The mayor has also placed blame on national agencies, accusing the South African National Roads Agency and the South African Police Service of failing to ensure safety along the route. He has said that during engagements with residents, he did not encounter opposition to the project.
The debate has intensified following the City’s decision to allocate R114 million to the N2 Edge safety initiative, which focuses on a 9km stretch of the highway. While R7 million has been earmarked for design work in the current financial year, most of the construction funding is planned for 2027.
Criticism has also come from the GOOD Party, with secretary-general Brett Herron arguing that communities along the N2 need proper housing and integrated development, not a wall that he believes sidesteps the deeper causes of crime.
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