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 questions Mahlobo’s Japan visit; expertise on home soil must be used to solve water crisis

ByAfriForum 26/02/202626/02/2026

Soundbite: Lambert de Klerk (English)

Soundbite: Lambert de Klerk (Afrikaans)

AfriForum questions the Department of Water and Sanitation’s reasons for their visit to Japan, led by David Mahlobo, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation. This visit is presented as an initiative to build capacity and transfer skills in order to strengthen the delivery of water and sanitation services. AfriForum believes that international cooperation can be valuable, but that training and technical support for these functions should be driven by existing institutions in the country.

According to the organisation, the Water Research Commission and other local centers of expertise are authorised and funded to promote research support, training programs, and operational water management solutions on home soil.

AfriForum will also request full disclosure of the total cost of this visit, including flights, accommodation, allowances, and the size of the delegation. The organisation also requests a breakdown of the measurable outcomes that the government claims will result from this visit and timelines for their implementation.

“The country does not have a shortage of skilled engineers, hydrologists, technicians, and municipal water practitioners. What is missing is decisive management, maintenance, and accountability,” says Lambert de Klerk, Manager for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.

AfriForum doubts whether this visit will necessarily bring about immediate improvement for communities suffering from water shortages and whether the resources could not instead be better spent on repairing infrastructure and strengthening implementation capacity at the municipal level.