Hundreds march in Cape Town against City's R115 million N2 Edge wall

About 200 activists, including people who live along the N2 in Cape Town, gathered along the Sea Point promenade on Heritage Day to oppose the municipality's planned "N2 Edge" wall safety project.

Little is known about what the N2 Edge wall will look like or where it will start and end. City officials have said vandalised boundary fencing will be rebuilt, lighting refurbished, and safety barriers put up around areas where children play. R115 million has been budgeted for the project over the next three years.

While public participation is yet to take place, there has been widespread opposition to the wall, including arguments that it will effectively hide poor communities from the view of residents and tourists on the N2. Protesters said they do not believe the construction of a solid wall would stop criminal activities on the route, and that it would instead separate townships and hinder access.

Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, coordinator of the Movement for Care, said the protest was aimed at stopping the DA-led government from building a wall along the N2 "under the pretence of protecting the safety of those who live and are driving near the N2". Mbulelo Zwane from Kraaifontein said the wall brings no solution to crime and "will just make things worse and separate people".

Esetu Babi from Khayelitsha's Site C said she believes the City could divert the money intended for the wall to other projects that could benefit communities, saying residents lack houses and toilets.

Protesters marched from the promenade to the Tafelberg site, where housing organisations Ndifuna Ukwazi and Reclaim the City recently won a decade-long court battle challenging the provincial government's sale of the site. The sale has since been cancelled, and the site is earmarked to be used for government services and social housing.