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

AfriForum helps Karoo community during major power outage

ByAfriForum 12/02/202412/02/2024

AfriForum provided assistance to the Karoo community, which has been suffering from a widespread power outage for more than a week. Several towns in the Western Cape including Merweville, Laingsburg, Matjiesfontein, Ladismith and Prince Albert has been without electricity after several pylons collapsed due to a huge storm.

Over a period of seven days, AfriForum made a total of 1 050 litres of fuel available to Huis Kweekvallei in Prince Albert and Huis Izak van Tonder in Ladismith for their generators. Furthermore, the AfriForum branch in Mossel Bay collected 4 000 litres of drinking water for the affected community, while AfriForum’s George branch provided a farmer with a generator to provide water to his seedlings and animals.

AfriForum works closely with the Western Cape provincial disaster management department and congratulates Alan Winde, the Premier of the Western Cape, on the good handling of the incident from provincial level to grassroots level.

The Western Cape government already had a contingency plan in place should a major power outage occur. All the necessary departments immediately formed part of the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) which, among other things, consists of Eskom, the Department of Health, local government, municipal infrastructure and the South African Police Service. By having a JOC in place, it is ensured that there is good communication from the grassroots level to the provincial level and vice versa. Problems can also be solved faster.

“The importance of cooperation and a good contingency plan cannot be emphasised enough. The other provinces and municipalities can certainly learn from the Western Cape government how to successfully manage such a major incident with challenges. The challenge always with a major incident or disaster is that the defenceless and poorest of the poor suffer the most,” says Tarien Cooks, Disaster Management Specialist for AfriForum.

AfriForum has an emergency fund where donations can be made to help the need at grassroots level. Go to www.afriforum.co.za and click on the “donate” button to contribute.