DURBAN COMMUNITIES TAKE TO STREETS AGAINST PORT EXPANSION PROJECT
Durban, South Africa, 20 March 2014 – The Durban port development plans have ignored significant social and environmental considerations in favour of the kind of neo-liberal economic policy that will not benefit these communities but rather governments and corporations invested in this project.
Next Saturday 29th March 2014, communities from across Durban will gather and protest in united effort to again publicly express their concerns and demand developmentthat promotes socio-economic and environmental solutions that benefit them. A multitude of issues come with this proposed development, such as:
- increased trucking on residential roads and national roads, and the inevitability of increased truck-related deaths;
- conversion of the Clairwood Racecourse, the ‘green lung’ of south Durban, into a logistics park and container depot;
- denial of fisherfolk access to the beachfront and various piers, and ultimately their livelihood;
- displacement of farmers and farmworkers currently occupying land next to the former Durban airport; and
- Increased health related impacts due to the expansion of the petro-chemical industrial hub and the contribution of the entire project to climate change.
For more information, please see the attached flyer.
The City and Transnet have been invited to collect the people’s memorandum at the City Hall.
Details of the protest:
DATE: Saturday, 29thMarch 2014
TIME: 08h00 – 12h00
VENUE: Starting at King Dinizulu (Botha’s Gardens) to KwaPixleyKaSeme (West) Street and ending at the Durban City Hall.
CONTACTS:
Desmond D'Sa, Coordinator of the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance:
Tel (w): 031 461 1991
Mobile: 083 982 6939
Email: desmond@sdceango.co.za
Megan Lewis, Media and Communications Officer at groundWork:
Tel (w): 033 342 5662
Mobile: 083 450 5541
Email: megan@groundwork.org.za
Vanessa Burger, Umbilo community volunteer:
Mobile: 082 847 7766
Email: bhubesi069@gmail.com
MthembiseniThusi, Dalton Hostel member:
Mobile: 081 021 8608
Sizwe Shiba : Umlazi Unemployed movement
Cell : 0612525523