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.

Ngwathe rushes to appeal court ruling, while residents struggle on

AfriForum’s legal team served a notice of opposition on 26 June in response to the Ngwathe Local Municipality’s notice of leave to appeal. The Ngwathe Municipality will appeal Judge J.P. Daffue’s ruling of at least 10 days ago – that the municipality requires urgent intervention.

The next step now is for the judge to put the case for argument. The judge will then decide whether another court will reach a different decision. If not, the order granted to AfriForum will be revived. If the appeal application is successful, the order will remain suspended until the application is heard at the Supreme Court of Appeal. In that case, AfriForum will consult with their legal team to consider other options.

AfriForum achieved a decisive victory in the High Court in Bloemfontein on 20 June when Daffue found that the Ngwathe Municipality was no longer fulfilling its constitutional, legal and administrative obligations towards its residents. The court consequently ordered the dissolution of the municipal council and instructed the Free State provincial government to intervene immediately.

This ruling follows years of neglect, incompetence and decay, during which residents of Parys, Heilbron, Koppies and Vredefort, among others, were left without reliable service delivery – including severe water shortages, raw sewage flowing down the streets, dilapidated infrastructure and a multi-million-rand budget mess.

According to the court, the Free State executive council must, within the framework of Section 139(5)(a) of the Constitution, draw up a recovery plan to restore services and meet debt obligations, dissolve the Ngwathe Municipal Council and appoint an administrator and report to the court on the progress every three months under oath.

The Ngwathe Municipality, together with eight other respondents in the case, including the Free State premier, is also responsible for AfriForum’s legal costs.

“It is a pity that Ngwathe is not as quick with service delivery, or at least in making the lies that the mayor so lavishly spilled on television come true,” says Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Mooi River. “The residents of Parys have had a particularly challenging week in terms of power and water outages in this bitter cold. We appeal to residents to continue to report any service delivery problems on the Save Ngwathe organisation’s platforms, as this is invaluable,” says Pretorius.

According to Schalk Burger, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Parys branch, residents can be assured that AfriForum will not give up and will continue the fight against the Ngwathe Municipality. The Municipality will be closely watched. “We will pass on the situation to our advocate so that they cannot tell lies. We also thank everyone who supports us. Please report the problems so that we can be fully aware of everything,” concludes Burger.

AfriForum urges the community to stay involved, report injustice and cooperate in the reconstruction of accountable local government. The court ruling is a milestone in AfriForum’s broader campaign against local government decay in South Africa.

To join AfriForum’s Parys branch, contact Burger on 082 653 4281.