After a long legal battle against the granting of mining rights to extract titanium in Xolobeni off the Wild Coast to the Australian company, Transworld Energy by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), on 14 September 2020, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favour of the Amadiba Crisis Committee. The court affirmed that the local communities had a right to say “No” to mining because it threatens their livelihoods and their way of living.  

Nomfuneko Goyi, a participant in The Green Connection’s Legacy Programme and a member of the Amadiba Crisis Committee, says, “We realized we would be tremendously affected as people who live along the coast—the mining of titanium would have resulted in forced removals.” She adds that there were no community consultations regarding the proposed titanium mining. Goyi adds, “People were just told to move, with no further explanation of the mining development. The community has always depended on the oceans and agricultural activities for survival, then it was suddenly expected to abandon their forefathers’ land for mining developments that could have led to environmental degradation and with little to no benefit for the people.”