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.

IDP: Durban and Amanzimtoti’s water and sewerage network needs urgent attention, says AfriForum

The AfriForum branches in the Durban area are calling on the eThekweni Metropolitan Municipality to make Durban and surrounding towns’ unstable water and sewerage networks a priority in the new financial year 2025/2026. The condition of certain streets in the eThekweni municipal area is also a sensitive issue that needs urgent attention. The Durban and Amanzimtoti branches submitted these written proposals regarding service delivery on the eThekweni Metro’s annual Integrated Development Plan (IDP) on 31 March.

AfriForum offered in the IDP to install an advanced pump control system at the sewage pump station in Ashwell Road in Warner Beach to prevent the regular sewage spills. The pump station has been giving problems for the past five years.

Other branches in KwaZulu-Natal have achieved success in the past with some of their proposals being included in the municipality’s IDP and completed, including one of Vryheid’s poor roads that was rebuilt. “It is therefore important that branches participate in the IDP process to submit proposals that will contribute to development in their communities,” says Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s Provincial Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal.

Service delivery

The communities in Durban and Amanzimtoti have been experiencing the regular closure of beaches due to Sewage pollution for the past few years, which has a huge impact on tourism in the area. The sewage pollution is also causing serious implications for the economy on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. Some businesses have had to close their doors permanently due to the financial implications of tourists continuously cancelling their holidays there. The sewage pollution is due to poor maintenance and flood damage, therefore the Metro must be held accountable for its inability to look after the water and sewerage networks and fully restore it.

It is worrying that 58,2% – which amounts to a value of R2 billion – of the eThekwini Metro’s purified water is being lost according to the Auditor-General’s (AG) report. “This loss can only be attributed to illegal connections, mainly leaking water infrastructure and flood damage,” says Donald Brown, AfriForum’s Chairperson for the Durban branch.

“Funds have been made available for some time to repair the flood damage to the infrastructure and one can only blame the floods for all the problems for so long,” adds Sarel Taljaard, AfriForum’s Chairperson for the Amanzimtoti branch.

Expenditure

According to the AG’s report, the total revenue for the eThekweni Metro was R51,4 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year, of which R43,7 billion was generated by the municipality. The National Treasury website indicates that the property tax revenue for 2023 for the eThekweni Metro was R11,94 billion. These funds come from property owners and are for typical non-billable services such as repairing potholes and streetlights, and maintaining sidewalks and parks.

The AG’s report shows that the eThekweni Metro incurred irregular expenditure of R3,6 billion during the 2022/2023 financial year. This is worrying and AfriForum insists that this needs urgent attention.

According to the AG’s report, non-competitive and unfair purchases are being made. Various tenders and contracts are being given to government officials, councillors, employees and family members. The eThekweni Metro spent 6,1% of the budget on maintenance, while the National Treasury recommends 8%. AfriForum is concerned that the low spending on maintenance of machinery and other equipment is contributing to the current poor service delivery.

Visit www.wordlid.co.za to become part of your nearest AfriForum branch and thus make a real difference in your community.