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.

Durban West branch submits proposals for IDP to eThekwini Metro

AfriForum’s Durban West branch submitted their proposals for the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s integrated development plan.

The branch expressed their opinion on the auditor general’s finding that there was uncompetitive and irregular procurement at the eThekwini Metro especially in respect of grants made to family members. The branch suggests that urgent precautions should be put in place in order to eliminate these irregularities.

Although the metro spent 8.9% of the municipal budget on maintenance and repair work, the AfriForum branch believes that this percentage should be increased to 15%, especially with the flood damage considered.

About R4.8 billion of the municipal budget was also attributed to fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The branch considers this to be unacceptable especially because this expenditure in 2021/2022 was higher than previous years.

Account holders of the eThekwini Metro take an average of 88 days to settle their accounts while the Metro itself takes an average of 71 days to pay their own bills. In addition, 58% of the Metro’s bills are not recovered at all.

According to André Johnson, chairperson of AfriForum’s Durban-West branch, the Metro has an obligation towards the community to ensure that the budget is used correctly in order to meet the community’s needs.

“We’ve also requested that several streetlights in Northdean, Montclair and Woodlands be repaired. Furthermore, sewage infrastructure also needs to be repaired and upgraded,” concludes Johnson.

Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s Provincial Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, believes that unnecessary wastage of funds has a serious impact on service delivery, tourism and the local economy. “AfriForum’s branches in KwaZulu-Natal are actively participating in the IDP process and it is also necessary that we comment on the findings of the auditor general so that we can ensure that municipalities fulfill their obligations. The proposals we submit are formulated to improve service delivery and we hope that the municipalities really take them to heart.”

Visit www.wordlid.co.za to become part of your nearest AfriForum branch and make a real difference in your community.