SANRAL claps back at Cape Town mayor's N2 Wall safety claims

The South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has pushed back against claims by Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis that national authorities have failed to keep communities along the N2 safe, saying it was never consulted on the City of Cape Town’s proposed security wall project.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, SANRAL said it had taken note of recent public pronouncements and video material released by the mayor in support of the City’s N2 Safety Project, including remarks suggesting that SANRAL had “completely failed” communities living along the national road.

SANRAL Western Cape provincial head Randall Cable said the agency wanted to place its position clearly on record.

“SANRAL wishes to put it on record that it has to date not been engaged by the City of Cape Town on the proposed security wall planned for the N2,” Cable said.

He emphasised that while the N2 is a strategically important national route, responsibility for different sections of the road is split between multiple authorities, a distinction that is critical for planning, construction, maintenance and safety interventions.

According to SANRAL, the N2 corridor falls under three separate road authority jurisdictions. The section from the city centre to the Raapenberg Interchange (N2/M5) falls under the City of Cape Town. The stretch from the Raapenberg Interchange to just before the Swartklip Interchange (N2/R300), including the Airport Approach Road, is managed by the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure. From just before the Swartklip Interchange eastwards to Somerset West, the N2 falls under SANRAL’s jurisdiction.

“A basic understanding of who the relevant road authority jurisdictions are is extremely useful when reporting incidents, as it will speed up response times,” he said.

SANRAL’s response comes amid intensifying political debate around the City’s N2 Safety Project, which includes plans to construct a security wall along sections of the highway. The project has been promoted by Hill-Lewis as a measure to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and communities living near the N2.

In the video released by the mayor, Hill-Lewis argues that the project enjoys unanimous community support. 

He outlines planned interventions including repairing and reinforcing an existing but deteriorated security barrier, upgrading lighting and introducing new pedestrian crossings.

He further criticises national authorities including SANRAL and the South African Police Service — for what he characterises as failures to keep communities along the corridor safe. He also claims that after speaking to residents for about 45 minutes, he could not find “a single person” who opposed the project.

Those claims have been disputed by opposition parties. The African National Congress in the Western Cape has called for the project to be halted pending an independent social impact assessment and broader community consultation, warning that the wall could deepen spatial divisions rather than address the root causes of crime.

The Freedom Front Plus has also weighed in, supporting the construction of the wall but raising concerns about consultation, jurisdiction and cost. Councillor Emre Uygun said claims of unanimous community support were questionable and called for a formal public participation process that would allow residents across the city to comment on the proposal.

Uygun said while his party supported the safety intervention, it shared SANRAL’s concern that the City had not consulted the relevant authorities, particularly given that the section of the N2 near Cape Town International Airport falls under the jurisdiction of the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure. He also questioned the apparent absence of the provincial department from the process, noting its R9.83 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year.

He further cautioned that the City should be mindful of the financial implications of proceeding without proper intergovernmental coordination, especially given recent municipal borrowing of R8.4 billion, and warned against assuming financial responsibility for infrastructure outside the City’s jurisdiction.

Responding to media enquiries, the City of Cape Town said it intends to enter into a memorandum of understanding with SANRAL to enable infrastructure improvements and repairs under the N2 Edge Safety Project.

The City said the memorandum would be informed by the upcoming planning and design phase, which would include detailed engagement with SANRAL, communities along the N2 and other stakeholders.

It added that a second follow-up meeting between SANRAL, the mayor and City officials was scheduled for next week, during which SANRAL was expected to provide an update on its capital projects pipeline. This follows an earlier meeting that focused specifically on the condition of the N2.

The City also said Hill-Lewis had previously written to SANRAL on several occasions — including in March 2023, April 2024 and January 2025 — raising concerns about the condition of safety barriers, lighting, road markings, cleanliness and related issues along the N2 and other highways.

According to the City, the decision to allocate funding to the N2 Edge Safety Project was taken to ensure that critical safety improvements are implemented in identified hotspots along the N2, regardless of which authority has jurisdiction over those sections of road.

The City has allocated R114 million in its adjustment budget for the project, which targets a 9km stretch of the highway. Budget documents show that R7 million has been set aside in the current financial year for design work, with the bulk of construction funding planned for the 2027 financial year.

While SANRAL has not commented on the merits of the proposed wall itself, it has maintained that any interventions along the N2 require clarity on jurisdiction and proper intergovernmental engagement — an issue that remains central to the ongoing debate.

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