{"id":61533,"date":"2026-08-31T07:38:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T07:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/?p=61533"},"modified":"2026-08-31T07:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T07:38:29","slug":"voices-on-extractive-economies-from-the-eastern-cape-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/africa\/en\/blog\/61533\/voices-on-extractive-economies-from-the-eastern-cape-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Voices on extractive economies from the Eastern Cape: Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Politicians and corporate executives often push the narrative that oil and gas extraction is a development imperative. Travelling between Mthatha and Durban by bus, minibus taxi and foot, Greenpeace Africa volunteer Milan Burnett and photographer Tom van der Schijff spent 14 days in the Eastern Cape to gather perspectives from coastal residents on this narrative. Special thanks to our media editing and translation team: Lex Owen, Gulshan Stodel, Zimbini Quza and Caelin Nell. Thanks to Buhle Francis from Coastal Justice Network and Boyisile Mafilika from Masifundise Development Trust for advice. Find video coverage of this journey on Greenpeace Africa\u2019s social media pages.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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\u201cWhen you are drilling in the ocean it feels like you are drilling in me,\u201d said Zingisa Ludude, Eastern Cape Secretary of advocacy group Coastal Links. She continues: \u201cBecause the way I feel, the ocean is a living thing\u2026It\u2019s a threat to me when they are talking about this oil and gas because I am thinking about our people, about how we are going to survive\u2026we want what we have to sustain us for generations and [for those] generations to come to enjoy what we have.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Zingisa Ludude (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The Ludude family, like many families in the Msikaba area, are fishers. As Mam\u2019Zingisa speaks to us on a cold July morning, she is surrounded by her neighbours, who are working in nearby vegetable gardens growing sorghum, pumpkin, red peppers and other veggies. Many residents of Msikaba and similar coastal areas have small-scale agricultural plots, harvest fish from the ocean to sell and eat, and are involved in the tourism economy. <\/p>\n\n

The earnings of those ocean harvests have sent many children in this area to school or university, explained Mam\u2019Zingisa, including her son, Wanda Ludude, who is a trained mechanic, fisher, and tour guide. To protect this reliance on the ocean, Mam\u2019Zingisa has called for people around the country to join her in protesting oil exploration and mining: \u201cEven the air we breathe is clean because of the ocean\u2026all the people who are along the coast must speak in one word and say no to this mining and gas drilling because we cannot live [without the ocean].\u201d<\/p>\n\n

On this coastline, Mam\u2019Zingisa\u2019s call is part of a groundswell of resistance to Shell and Impact Africa\u2019s exploration rights in the Indian Ocean. This resistance culminated in the Constitutional Court\u2019s ruling on August 14th 2026 which ordered the exploration rights to be set aside. <\/p>\n\n

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Ndengane, Eastern Cape. A notice board inside a shop (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Part of this resistance has played out in the courts where community based non-profits are demanding accountability for oil companies which run roughshod over their rights to political and economic inclusion. Read more in Part 1<\/a> of this series. In a nearby spaza shop, a wall of photos commemorates the resistance in this area to Shell\u2019s oil and gas applications. In other parts of the country, movements like Mining Affected Communities United in Action, Abahlali baseMjondolo, and many others, are pushing back on similar issues where activists say that human life and dignity, and that of future generations, is sacrificed in the name of profit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Ludude is humble about her role in this movement. But she is proudly recognised by her son, Wanda, who said that \u201cmy mother played a big role in [resisting] the Shell mining.\u201d Wanda is also one of many fishers in this area and around the country who joined his mother\u2019s call to demand economic equality, participation in decision-making, and ownership: \u201cThey do not realise that mining will destroy everything that people benefit from and all marine life. All I ask is that we have control over our own land, instead of having others make decisions for us,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n

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Wanda Ludude (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

For Wanda, the resistance against Shell is grounded in ongoing struggles for ocean access and an inclusive economy, which he and other activists say inform their resistance to Shell. Wanda explained one of those struggles through a recent experience: <\/p>\n\n

\u201cLast month we went fishing at sea. We have fishing rights here at Ndengane. I am a member of the Msikaba mouth fishing cooperative. When we went out to sea, a boy was sent by one of the cottage owners to tell us we were not allowed to fish in the sea. We were in canoes, not motorboats. He threatened us and told us that we would be arrested\u2026We even asked him what gave him the right to tell us that because we have fishing rights as the local cooperative. He undermined our intelligence and assumed we could not think for ourselves. The cottage owners do as they please. They even take our land to extend their properties and make decisions on our behalf\u2026Here in South Africa, land belongs to the people who live in it so we are the people who are living in this land. If something is about to change, you must be consulted first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

About 50 residents of about 10 Eastern Cape coastal villages told Greenpeace Africa a similar story: expanding oil and gas developments and laws that prioritise those with money. Many residents say they see massive trawlers granted fishing rights, while smaller-scale fishers receive small quotas. Follow Greenpeace Africa on social media to hear more testimony on these issues. <\/p>\n\n

The Lududes and other residents of the area also say that developments like nearby multi-million rand beach lodges were set up without consent or involvement of surrounding communities, lodges which now prevent beach access and thoroughfare. Wanda and others say this is a trend of privatising the land and ocean by companies for narrow economic benefit: <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThere is an inequality in terms of the law. There are so many times when we used to report the trawlers here catching our fish and going away, and the government officials do not do anything about that. What I can say is that those are unjust laws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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A contentious beach lodge blocking access to the coast, Mkambati (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Wanda explains that this struggle is about who has the economic and political power to decide what development and what progress looks like. Oil developments and unequal quotas are two of the manifestations of that power, he said: \u201cThe politicians are unwilling to confront the heart of the matter. I want to understand why the government fails to come to us when we need them…They collaborate with capitalists and overlook communities like ours because we have no money…We want to stop being exploited by our government and its officials. We ask that our voices be heard too, just like the ones of those in power. So it is very clear that our voices don\u2019t matter because the interests of wealthy people are prioritised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

But politicians like James Lorimer, shadow Minister for Minerals and Petroleum Resources (DMPR), say that drilling oil will benefit people so that no one has to worry about putting food on the table. As Lorimer said: \u201cSouth Africans need to decide if they want development or not, and if they do, it will be boosted\u2026by fossil fuels.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe problem is that they are just Ministers, they are just politicians,\u201d replied Mam\u2019Zingisa. \u201cIf the politicians take the money [from oil extraction], they won\u2019t give [it to] those people who are starving. That money can go to them, not to the people who are starving. I\u2019ve seen people struggling. Someone who works in Parliament just writes down orders and demands money from those operations\u2026What we want as fisher people is for the government to create a way for people to sustain themselves, to be equipped with all the skills needed to feed and sustain themselves with the things they get from the community. Not with things that destroy our sea. We don\u2019t want our sea to be destroyed by mining.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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\u201cActual benefits and performance may vary.\u201d Mthatha (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

About 80 kilometres south of the Ludude family, Xolisani Mavela, father of four, is an active fisher and professional tour guide, leading hiking trails through the Eastern Cape. His lifelong friend, Sikanyeso Mdiya, is also an active fisherman and has recently started a homestay for visitors in Manteku. Their thoughts bounce off of each other in the evening light, as they kindle memories of their childhood together like a small fire. Both men were born in Manteku, a coastal village of about 500 residents, many of whom depend on the ocean for food and income, or small-scale agriculture. <\/p>\n\n

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Sikanyeso Mdiya (left) Xolisani Mavela (right) (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Mdiya and Mavela have depended on the ocean since their early years together. They were together the first time they navigated the currents of the Eastern Cape\u2019s rivers. To teach Mdiya how to swim, Mavela used a cow crossing the river as a flotation aid, instructing his friend: \u201cSwim across the river holding the tail of a cow in your hands, and kick your legs behind you.\u201d So began what these men describe as a lifelong love of nature:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI fell in love with nature when I was 6 years of age\u2026since we were 9 years old we started fishing together. We know how important the ocean is. That is why we protect the ocean as much as we can,\u201d said Mdiya.<\/p>\n\n

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The coastline near Mnganzana (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Just as Bhekeni Danca\u2019s grandfather fought for the land of this area (see Part 1<\/a>), it was Mdiya and Mavela\u2019s grandmothers who taught them to fish: \u201cI learnt how to fish from my grandmother\u2026She was fishing a lot, and what made me her favourite is that I always accompanied her. I was also going with her when she went fishing and also after; I think she was still mourning her husband\u2019s loss, so it [helped] her to try and relieve the stress when she is fishing,\u201d said Mavela. Under the tutelage of their grandmothers, these young men brought home fish for their families and neighbours: \u201cWe would bring it back to my family, and then we have supper together, which is a big feast,\u201d remembered Mdiya.<\/p>\n\n

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Sikanyeso Mdiya on the deck of his homestay in Manteku (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Meanwhile, their parents also shared their knowledge of the soil, knowledge which sustains the family every day. As Mdiya explained: \u201cMy mum is almost 75 years old now. She is very, very old but when you see her it’s like [she\u2019s] maybe 40 or 45 years old. She\u2019s very, very tough. She used to be a good diver as well, but now she\u2019s just busy working in the garden growing her vegetables, sugarbeans, cabbage, carrots and everything from the garden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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Zanele and Alice Mbuthuma. Alice tends her garden, which feeds 30 people, on 4 mornings per week (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The land their families have tended for generations must be sustained for the next generation, said Mavela. For Mdiya, Mavela, and many others on this coastline, oil, mining, and industrial developments threaten a safe future on this land. This is why Mavela urges leaders to \u201cTry and engage with the local people first. Respect them no matter [where] they live, but respect comes first. Consider all the suggestions that they put out on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This testimony, and those of people all around the country impacted by decisions made in their name, must be heard by those in power, explained Mam\u2019Zingisa:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe want to own our land\u2026I would like us to be consulted as the people of this place. No decisions must be taken without us\u2026Nothing for us without us. And we need this free prior informed consent\u2026We were never consulted and they did not come to us and ask us what kind of development we need as people who stay along the coast, [or] which development is suitable for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

If he were consulted, one of the questions Mavela would ask the Chief Executive of Shell is:<\/p>\n\n

\u201cDo you love the people who are living on the ocean? And if you love them, why would you mess up the place of the people you love? Why would you cause sickness of the people you love?\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Find out more on how Mdiya, Mavela, the Lududes, and others envision a more inclusive economy by watching their video testimony on Greenpeace Africa\u2019s social media. <\/p>\n\n

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The building of the N2 Highway through the Eastern Cape has led to protests by coastal residents, some of whom say they fear the highway is to facilitate increased mining at the expensive of coastal livelihoods, without proper consultation (Tom van der Schijff\/Greenpeace Africa)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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\u00a0Bukho Nongcavu (middle) with friends\u00a0<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
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Part 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are not saying we will never see change. What I’m saying is that we will die trying. As long as we are still alive, we will never stop fighting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ HERE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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