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.

AfriForum issues formal notice to JB Marks Municipality over infrastructure decay

In a formal notice sent today to the JB Marks Local Municipality, AfriForum demands the urgent repair of and a complete intervention plan for critical infrastructure in Potchefstroom. The organisation warns in its letter that the Municipality is exposing itself to serious legal and financial liabilities if immediate action is not taken in this regard.

According to Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Mooi River, this town falls into a “full-scale safety crisis” after dark. The majority of the streetlights are out of order; road markers are virtually invisible; and at least one traffic light at almost every traffic light intersection is faulty. Furthermore, overgrown vegetation obstructs visibility, and potholes are difficult to see, exposing motorists to serious damage and possible danger to life.

Overgrown sidewalks and broken streetlights in Potchefstroom

“This situation not only points to the Municipality’s ongoing incompetence, but it also points to a failure to fulfil constitutional and legal duties. The Municipality has a clear responsibility, in terms of Sections 152 and 153 of the Constitution, to promote a safe and healthy environment and to prioritise the basic needs of the community. That obligation is currently being blatantly neglected,” says Pretorius.

The organisation further points out that the Municipal Systems Act obliges the Municipality to deliver services in a sustainable and accountable manner, while the National Road Traffic Act requires that traffic control measures be properly maintained. A failure to maintain roads and traffic infrastructure in a reasonably safe condition can lead to delictual liability and civil claims.

AfriForum has also received complaints of alleged intimidation, threats of violence and death by municipal workers. According to these complaints, residents and businesspeople who carry out maintenance in front of their properties themselves because the municipality fails to do so are intimidated.

“If these allegations are true, it indicates a shocking abuse of power. Instead of threatening the community, the Municipality should work with residents. Cooperation would improve the town, while intimidation destroys trust and can even have criminal implications,” Pretorius emphasises.

AfriForum has now given the municipality 14 days to undertake a comprehensive audit and submit a concrete remediation plan with clear time frames. If prompt and visible action is not taken, AfriForum stands ready to seek legal advice and consider all available remedies, including possible litigation, to enforce residents’ safety and rights.

“The residents of Potchefstroom deserve safe roads, functioning infrastructure and a Municipality that does its job. AfriForum is prepared to step in where the municipality fails,” says Douglas Bourn, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Potchefstroom branch.