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.

North West Premier’s silence on service delivery leaves much to be desired

The North West Premier’s month-long silence on the service delivery and infrastructure crisis currently unfolding in the Tswaing Local Municipality has raised questions within AfriForum about the priority the Provincial Government places on the basic functioning of local municipalities.

According to the civil rights organisation, the deterioration of Ottosdal, Delareyville and Sannieshof in particular, coupled with the Municipality’s reluctance to rectify the situation, has serious consequences for residents. Persistent problems such as sewage flowing through streets, illegal dumping, unreliable refuse collection, poor landfill site management, deteriorating roads, and inadequate and unreliable water supply are among the most pressing challenges residents face.

AfriForum has repeatedly drawn the Municipality’s attention to the extensive deterioration of these towns and offered assistance through a cooperation agreement. However, the request for formal cooperation was rejected, while attempts to raise concerns about service delivery and infrastructure with the Municipality have been ignored. AfriForum therefore regards intervention by the Premier as essential.

Jp Nel, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Stellaland, says that despite a petition in which more than 140 signatories expressed their dissatisfaction with service delivery failures, Premier Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi continues to fail to hold the Local Municipality accountable.

“The problems in the Tswaing Municipality cannot simply be ignored. Residents depend on the Municipality to provide basic services and should not continually have to bear the consequences of poor service delivery without clear action being taken by the responsible authorities,” he says.

The organisation believes that the Premier, as Head of the Provincial Executive, has an important role to play in overseeing local government and intervening where municipalities fail to fulfil their responsibilities.

“More than 140 emails have been sent to the Premier’s office to bring residents’ concerns about the Municipality’s service delivery to the attention of the Provincial Government. AfriForum also requested that the Premier visit the area alongside the organisation to see first-hand the problems residents face daily. Yet the Premier remains silent on the matter. This makes us question whether basic service delivery and well-functioning municipalities are genuinely a priority for the Premier,” says Nel.

AfriForum once again calls on the Premier to visit the Tswaing municipal area and provide a clear outline of the steps the provincial government intends to take to address the service delivery problems.

AfriForum will continue to pursue the matter and promote the interests of the affected communities. The organisation expects residents’ concerns to be taken seriously and concrete steps to be taken to ensure sustainable and efficient municipal service delivery.

AfriForum has launched an online petition where residents can make their voices heard. Click here to sign the petition.