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.

Warning lights are flashing about the safety of borehole water in Parys

Water tests that AfriForum’s Parys branch recently had done on water from four boreholes in different parts of Parys show that water from three of these is unsuitable for human consumption. The test of one of the boreholes even pointed to the presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli). The tests were carried out by a SANAS-accredited laboratory and the results are particularly worrying as there is often a misperception that borehole water is always clean and safe for human consumption.

AfriForum encourages residents of Parys who use borehole water, to have water from their boreholes tested, especially if it is used for drinking water.

“How sad is it that residents of Parys currently have no clean water source? The municipality let them down, and now it appears that the groundwater is also polluted,” says Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Mooi River.

According to Schalk Burger, Chairperson of the AfriForum branch in Parys, the substantial number of sewage leaks in Parys could possibly be the reason for the contamination of underground water in the town. “Because Parys is situated on a granite bank and the water cannot seep away deeply, it stays above the granite bank from where most borehole water is pumped,” explains Burger.

Pretorius emphasises that the efficient management of Parys’ water treatment plant is a necessity and that the appointment of competent individuals and management will at least resolve the crisis regarding safe tap water in this town.

Meanwhile, AfriForum is still waiting for a verdict in a court application about this crisis. In December last year, the civil rights organisation submitted an urgent application to the Bloemfontein High Court in which an intervention was requested in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution. According to this, a provincial executive authority can step in and place the municipality under administration when a municipality does not fulfil its duties. Among other things, AfriForum requests an overview of the water works so that the competence of workers on the plant can be monitored.

The how, when and where of water testing

Tests should preferably be undertaken at an accredited laboratory. AfriForum’s water tests for Parys are conducted at the Envirocare laboratory in Potchefstroom. The cost amounts to approximately R500.
Pour 500 ml of water into a sterilised bottle.
Deliver the water sample to the laboratory within 48 hours.
If water cannot be taken immediately to the laboratory, it should preferably be refrigerated or kept on ice.