Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

Kuruman now second town without proper water supply in Northern Cape

AfriForum seeks action from SAHRC, Northern Cape Premier and others

AfriForum has called on Dr. Zamani Saul, Premier of the Northern Cape, the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality; the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC); and others to take action to address the water supply problem in Kuruman. This follows residents of the Eye of Kuruman and surrounding areas being repeatedly left without water for the past two weeks with no information about the reasons for this. Kuruman is the second town in the Northern Cape to experience water supply problems this week.

AfriForum initially wrote to the Ga-Segonyana Local Municipality requesting them to respond within 24 hours with answers on the causes of the water supply challenges as well as the steps being taken to address the challenges. The organisation also approached the Northern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and the Northern Cape Department of Water and Sanitation to intervene and hold the municipality to account.

Residents of the Eye of Kuruman told AfriForum that they had to go without water for five days at a time. Water supply is a basic right, and if water supply is erratic, the direct impact on households, businesses, schools, and health facilities can be enormous.

The water outages are suspected to be caused or exacerbated by, among other things, power outages affecting water pumps, a failure to turn on pumps after power supply is restored, and management challenges at the municipality.

AfriForum requests, among other things, that the authorities investigate the water supply in Kuruman, especially in the Eye of Kuruman area. Furthermore, the organisation also requests that immediate remedial steps be implemented to restore and stabilise the water supply.

“It is extremely concerning that Kuruman is now the second Northern Cape town within a week to struggle with a water crisis. This indicates a larger systemic problem in the management and maintenance of water infrastructure in the province,” says Lize-Mari Smit, AfriForum’s district coordinator for the Karoo.

AfriForum emphasises that access to water is a constitutional right and that recurring service delivery failures can no longer be dismissed as accidental or isolated incidents.

“We have given the Ga-Segonyana Municipality 24 hours to respond to our request, it seems they are not taking the challenges facing the residents of Kuruman seriously. We now have no other choice but to approach the Premier and other provincial authorities as well as the SAHRC to take steps to ensure reliable water supply for the residents of Kuruman. Should water supply not improve, AfriForum will take further steps,” concludes Smit.