CAPE TOWN – Cape Town’s R114 million budget allocation for the N2 Edge safety project has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties, who argue it reflects misguided priorities.
The backlash follows Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’s announcement on Thursday 29 January that the City had allocated the amount in its adjustment budget for the N2 Edge safety project to improve safety for commuters, pedestrians and communities along a 9 km stretch of the N2.
ANC caucus leader and Council Leader of the Opposition Ndithini Tyhido called the plan “senseless”, saying it sanitised the tourist experience at the expense of local residents.
Tyhido urged the City to invest in capacitating community neighbourhood watches and community-policing forums instead of pursuing the physical-barrier approach.
The GOOD Party argued the R114 million would be better spent on social development in the crime-ridden areas bordering the highway, rather than on physical separation.
GOOD Party councillor Chad Davids delivered a scathing critique of the broader wall approach, stating: “R180 million must be found for a wall along the N2, a wall that does not stop crime, a wall that does not create jobs, a wall that does not build communities, a wall that does not reduce gangsterism.
“When a government builds walls instead of building people it has already surrendered to failure.”
Critics say project hides poverty
Opponents argue the R114 million wall is unnecessary and misdirected spending that sanitises the tourist route while excluding poorer communities and hiding poverty rather than addressing crime’s root causes.
The project has been criticised for prioritising a physical barrier over community-led safety measures and social interventions.
Critics contend the initiative effectively hides poverty and marginalises neighbouring communities, with the R114 million budget viewed as poor allocation of resources, which won’t address root causes of crime.
Hill-Lewis defended the project, stating on Thursday 29 January: “Today our adjustment budget commits R114m to the N2 Edge project, which will make a positive difference to the safety of every motorist along that stretch and reduce pedestrian fatalities.”
The Mayor emphasised the project’s broader scope beyond safety barriers: “It will not only repair safety barriers but also bring various safety improvements for communities along the N2. It is not fair that a small number of criminal elements are impacting the safety of hundreds of thousands of daily users of the N2.”
The comprehensive safety initiative will address multiple concerns affecting hundreds of thousands of daily users of the major highway, including commuters from Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain, Blue Downs, Eerste River, Mfuleni, the Helderberg and neighbouring towns.
Beyond safety-barrier repairs and reinforcements along the N2, the project will deliver various safety improvements for adjacent communities, including new pedestrian crossings, improved lighting and access control, safety barriers for recreational spaces, safer grazing practices and reduced scope for illegal dumping.
Enhanced security measures
The Mayor noted that the N2 edge project will complement the City’s enhanced highway patrolling, which includes more than 40 new Metro police officers deployed to the N2, backed by CCTV cameras, automatic number-plate recognition and digital coordination for rapid response to assist motorists.
The allocation forms part of the City’s adjustment budget, which also includes R412 million in performance grant funding from National Treasury recognising Cape Town’s reforms in utility services for Water & Sanitation, Energy and Urban Waste Management.
