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.

Local Government Affairs Media statements | Media statements

AfriForum achieves victory in court for power supply to Zeerust community

ByAfriForum 16/11/2022

AfriForum on 16 November 2022 achieved a victory in the High Court in Pretoria against Eskom. This follows after Eskom applied additional load shedding in the Zeerust area from 30 July 2020 to 6 August 2020 due to the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality’s overdue bill. The outages left the area without power for about six hours a day. The power supply was fully restored on 7 August 2020 after part of the debt was paid to Eskom.

However, AfriForum continued with legal proceedings because the payment of the outstanding debt is still overdue. The risk therefore still exists that Eskom may again apply the additional load shedding and it is therefore important to get a court order prohibiting it.

Among other things, AfriForum demanded in the court documents that:

the decision of Eskom to declare the power supply to the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality on 18 August 2020 as unconstitutional and illegal;
the decision must be reviewed and set aside;
Eskom must pay the legal costs incurred by AfriForum for the application; and
further and alternative leave is granted to AfriForum.

With this ruling, the court found that Eskom did not fulfill their obligations under legislation.

“The power outages caused major problems in Zeerust (although most consumers faithfully pay their electricity bills to the municipality), because many households and businesses also did not have access to water during the outages. Furthermore, the interruptions also caused a major safety risk, because safety devices such as electric fences also did not work,” says Petrus Coetzee, Advisor for Local Government Affairs at AfriForum.

“Disputes like this between state organs should not have a negative impact on the general public. We are therefore very happy about the outcome of the court case and are grateful that we can help the community. We cannot allow these disputes between state organs to violate people’s basic rights,” says Morné Mostert, Manager for Local Government Affairs at AfriForum.

AfriForum would like to make a bigger difference in the community and encourages residents to get involved. Become part of the solution: SMS “Krag” to 45344 (R1).