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.

AfriForum demands action against illegal recyclers at SuperSport Park

AfriForum sent a letter on Monday 9 September 2019 to Stevens Mokgalapa, Mayor of the Tshwane Metro, about the illegal recyclers who live across from SuperSport Park in Centurion. AfriForum members complained about the major safety and other risks that these illegal occupiers pose to the surrounding area.

More than 200 recyclers currently live on Plot 147 of Farm Lyttelton in Ward 65. Little houses and shops have also been erected on the property, which is situated along the Hennops River below the flood line.

According to Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for Greater Pretoria, the illegal recyclers have a negative effect on the environment. “The area has been turned into a garbage site, with plastic bags being blown around or burnt. People who live there use the water from the Hennops River to wash themselves and their clothes. The river is polluted with E. coli and poses various healthcare risks to the people living on the property or downstream.”

“The safety of the surrounding communities is also compromised, as the settlement offers easy hiding for criminals. Rumours are afloat that drugs are sold on the premises and alcohol are abused. Residents also complain that their dustbins, alarm eye sensors, manhole covers and electrical cables in the surrounding areas are stolen; this can be ascribed to the Metro no longer exercising any control over the premises.”

Among other, AfriForum demand the following in its letter:

An urgent meeting with the Mayor and other role-players;
That recyclers are moved to a more suitable area; and
Immediate intervention by the Metro Police and the SAPS to curb crime in the area.

“It is the Metro’s duty to ensure that the rights of the community – including people living on the premises – are respected. Everyone has a right to a healthy, safe environment. What happens here is quite the contrary. It isn’t right to live under such desperate circumstances, and the Metro will have to ensure that the people are moved to a more suitable area where they can continue their recycling. The Metro must also ensure that recycling happens in a legal manner without negatively affecting the environment,” Grobbelaar adds.

Join AfriForum today: SMS your name to 45341 (R1) and help us to make a difference.