AfriForum improves Bethal and Secunda bit by bit despite opposition
AfriForum’s Bethal and Secunda branches once again embarked on several community projects in July in an effort to improve the two towns. However, this did not stop the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality from attempting to impede these activities. Despite the Municipality’s efforts, the branches continued to erect stop signs, remove garden refuse and repair potholes. The Bethal branch even delivered hundreds of thousands of litres of water to residents, while the Teks (Trichardt, Evander, Kinross and Secunda) neighbourhood team removed water hyacinths from a public dam.
In Bethal, AfriForum’s neighbourhood team cut the grass opposite and behind the Bethal Police Station. The area behind the holding cells is regularly overgrown with dense grass. The neighbourhood team cleared the area and removed more than 60 bags of refuse. In addition, the team, in cooperation with Bluegum Country Lodge, used 70 bags of asphalt to repair potholes in Lakeside Drive.
Two stop signs were also erected at the intersection of Malherbe Street and Tsibitsa Sibanyoni Street. The stop signs that had to regulate traffic in Malherbe Street were missing, and the neighbourhood team erected new signs to make the intersection safer. The project was almost derailed by the Municipality, which maintains that AfriForum should first have obtained permission to replace the vital stop signs.
“AfriForum has been carrying out projects such as these in Bethal for several years without complaint. The civil rights organisation has therefore sent a letter to the Municipal Manager requesting clarity on the situation,” says Hennie Bekker, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Highveld.
“This incident, however, serves as proof that the Municipality is not serious about service delivery. While residents live in deteriorating towns and have to risk their lives on dangerous roads, the Municipality is splitting hairs over the erection of road signs intended to regulate traffic. AfriForum will therefore continue with its various community projects aimed at making the area safer and improving it.”
During a recent water interruption, AfriForum’s Bethal branch worked with farmers in the Bethal area to distribute more than 380 000 litres of water to schools, care homes and emergency water points. More than 1 million litres of water have been delivered and distributed to residents since the beginning of 2026.
The Teks neighbourhood team, in cooperation with Greenstrip Gang, also launched a major project to clean Eende Dam in Secunda. With the aid of a conveyor belt, more than 400 loads of water hyacinths were removed from the dam. Green areas along Nelson Mandela Drive, as well as Paardekraal Street, Vaalrivier Street and Frankfurt Street, were also cut and cleared. More than 16 000 square metres were cleared during the month. The Teks team will also begin repairing potholes soon.
“We cannot simply stand by and watch the town deteriorate, which is why AfriForum’s teams are taking action to counter the decline,” says Jan du Plessis, Chairperson of AfriForum’s Teks branch.
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