Bethal branch and Teks neighborhood team make a difference during February

AfriForum’s Bethal branch and Trichardt-Evander-Kinross-Secunda neighbourhood team (otherwise known as the Teks neighbourhood team), showed in February that they are not afraid of hard work. These teams cut grass, filled potholes and removed rubbish in their respective areas.

AfriForum once again intervened during the recent water outages in Bethal and helped to provide or distribute more than 260 000 litres of water to the community. During this time, as on previous occasions, the farmers in the area ensured that AfriForum’s emergency water points were full and that the homes and schools in the town had access to clean water. The farmers offered their help free of charge and AfriForum coordinated the deliveries so that everyone could be effectively looked after.

During this time, AfriForum RandWater also sued the Pretoria High Court to obtain information about the water crisis; judgment was reserved. The organization also filed an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to compel the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality to share information about the water supply agreement as well as the debt payment agreement between the municipality and RandWater with the organisation.

“AfriForum is taking various actions to resolve this crisis. We do not believe in cheap political solutions. The residents of the Govan Mbeki Municipality deserve clean, running water, and we will continue to fight for it,” says Hennie Bekker, AfriForum’s district coordinator for the Highveld.

The branch used 190 bags of tar to repair potholes in Malherbe Street. According to Bekker, this street is one of the main roads through the town, and hundreds of people use this street daily to transport children to Hoogenhout High School. A second phase of this action will kick off soon.

The Bethal branch also teamed up with Hoogenhout High School to repair potholes on Wicht Street. The high school provided the tar, and the AfriForum team repaired the potholes. Repairs were also made to tarred roads within the school grounds so that they could look nice again before a major athletics event took place there. The branch used 230 bags of tar to successfully complete this action.

The BCVO school (Beweging vir Christelike Volkseie Onderwys) also approached the branch to cut 3.5 hectares of grass on the school’s sports grounds. These lands were previously unused, but the school plans to use them again. Landslide work has already taken place after the grass-cutting campaign.

The branch also cleaned the entrance to the Bethal/Kriel R545 route again. This task has been handled by AfriForum’s Bethal branch for the past 13 months.

AfriForum is also taking on the Govan Mbeki Municipality after the municipality announced an increase of more than 12% on electricity while Eskom is threatening to cut off the town’s power.

Bekker believes that residents are already paying their bills, but that they now have to fork out even more without knowing whether that money will actually be paid to the service providers.

The Teks neighbourhood team, in turn, cut 3.6 hectares of grass during February. There was a particular focus on green strips and tidying up areas along roads. This included work in O.R. Thambo Street and in the area around Secunda Primary School.

The green strips between Vaal River and Munchen Streets, as well as between Vaal River and Rietspruit Streets, were also neatly trimmed and cleaned. This action was undertaken in collaboration with residents in the area.

Furthermore, the Teks branch also worked with the Groenstrook Gabbas and the Secunda Steamers to clean up Eendedam Park.

The branch and neighborhood team removed more than 19 bakkie and trailer loads of grass and garbage during these projects.

“It is important for us to keep green strips and grass along main routes neat, as long grass is a safety risk for pedestrians due to the hiding place it can provide for criminals. Pedestrians are unfortunately easy targets for these criminals who use long grass and wooded areas to their advantage,” says Jan du Plessis, chairperson of AfriForum’s Teks branch.