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.

Media statements | Safety Media statements

AfriForum submits commentary against proposed 5G policy

By 01/09/202003/11/2020

The civil rights organisation AfriForum today submitted commentary to the Department of Communication and Digital technology against the Draft Policy and Policy Direction on Rapid Deployment of Electronic Communication Networks and Facilities (the so-called 5G policy). According to AfriForum, this draft policy contains various concerning regulations that will among others violate property rights and pose specific safety risks to landowners.

In its commentary, AfriForum points out that it is in no way against technological advancement, but that this advancement must happen in a responsible and constitutional manner without violating people’s fundamental rights.

The policy determines, for example, that the installation of 5G equipment may be done without the owner’s approval. Moreover, persons who install the equipment (which includes masts, towers and optical fibre on poles as well as underground in channels) will have access to property to lay out and erect the equipment – with or without the owner’s approval. According to the policy, installers will only have to give fair notice to landowners that they will be installing the 5G equipment. The owner of the property on which the equipment is to be erected will not necessarily have the right to be compensation, either.

According to the 5G policy, government need not register a servitude against the title deeds of the property at the authorities for the installation and erection of the above, but only a right of user.

“One of the main concerns that we have with the 5G policy in its current format is that it exposes landowners to various dangers: first, the violation of their property rights; second, government cannot expect – given our excessively high crime figures – that landowners are informed only by notice that strangers will be accessing their properties,” says Marnus Kamfer, AfriForum’s Legal and Risk Manager for Community Safety.