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.

Judgment reserved in AfriForum’s Mangaung refuse removal case

Jaco Grobbelaar (English)

AfriForum’s court case against the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality over its ongoing failure to provide refuse removal services in Bloemfontein was heard yesterday in the High Court in Bloemfontein, where judgment was reserved.

The case follows years of inadequate and unreliable refuse removal services, during which residents have been required to pay municipal charges for the service, even when it is not provided at all or is provided inconsistently.

AfriForum argues that residents should not be forced to pay for a service that the Mangaung Metro fails to provide and that, where the Municipality is unable to deliver the service properly, residents should have the option of using an alternative service provider.

The civil rights organisation has been trying to resolve the issue with the Metro since 2020. With AfriForum’s assistance, hundreds of applications for exemption from municipal refuse removal charges have been submitted, but the Municipality has failed to process these applications properly.

The extent of the problem has also compelled AfriForum to remove refuse on behalf of residents on several occasions to mitigate the health and environmental risks associated with the accumulation of waste.

“It is unacceptable that residents are expected to pay year after year for a service that is not consistently provided. Since the court proceedings began, refuse removal has remained a major problem in Bloemfontein, and the Mangaung Metro has failed to provide a reliable and sustainable service,” says Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s Head of the Central Region.

“AfriForum believes that the court’s judgment will provide clarity on the rights of residents who pay for services that are not delivered. It is simple: Bloemfontein residents must receive a proper, sustainable refuse removal service if they are expected to pay for it.”

AfriForum has, among other things, asked the court to declare that residents should not be held financially liable for refuse removal services that the Municipality fails to provide and that they may make use of an alternative service provider. The organisation has also requested that the Municipality be ordered to make decisions on the outstanding exemption applications.

AfriForum will study the judgment once it is handed down and communicate its implications to residents.