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.

Community Affairs Media statements | Media statements

Lack of clean water leads to fiery uprising in Parys

ByAfriForum 16/01/202316/01/2023

Chaos reigns in Parys since yesterday afternoon because residents of Tumahole and Schonkenville have had enough of the fact that they never have clean water. Residents of these residential areas began by setting fire to the JoJo tanks, which are supposed to be filled with clean water. This morning they poured into Parys towards the municipal buildings and the water works. Roads are blocked and fires are being set. The entrances to the town are blocked. The residents are angry and have had enough.

The AfriForum branch in Parys is not surprised by these actions but is of the opinion that this situation could have been prevented if the Ngwathe Local Municipality and the Bloemfontein High Court had heeded AfriForum’s requests and accepted the help they were offered and acted on the requests that were made.

The Ngwathe Municipality signed an agreement with AfriForum approximately 18 months ago. AfriForum fulfilled its side of the agreement and provided the municipality with plans to get the water works as well as the sewage works in a good, working condition. The organisation even attached a cost estimate to these plans, but to date the municipality has not acted on any of the recommendations.

Furthermore, AfriForum brought two urgent court applications last year (2022) and one in 2019, regarding the water shortage as well as the poor quality of the water. However, all these court applications were rejected by the High Court in Bloemfontein as not urgent. An application was also brought to declare the water situation in Parys a disaster, which was not granted. Furthermore, AfriForum also brought the water situation in Parys to the attention of the Department of Health because the E.Coli in the water can cause illness and even death.

“AfriForum has long seen that the water situation in Parys is a ticking time bomb. If all AfriForum’s calls for help had been heeded, this situation could have been prevented today. However, AfriForum is still prepared to provide help, it just has to be accepted,” says Alta Pretorius, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Mooi River.