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 again does government’s work and removes 1 623 tonnes of water lettuce from Vaal River themselves

On 3 February, AfriForum together with several other organisations, businesses and community members removed more than 1 623 tonnes of water lettuce from the Vaal River. This while the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs have still not done anything about this invasive plant after almost a month.

About 50 volunteers scooped the plants out of the water with their hands and more than 15 boats and jetskis pushed the water lettuce to four different removal points. Seven trucks were standing by to drive away the water lettuce and four full loads were removed every hour.

“We as a community are actually now doing work that is the government’s responsibility. It is clear to us that the government does not care about our scarce resource and would rather spend time having meetings than actually doing something about the problem. We can’t just sit in meetings while the problems outside worsen,” says Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s Regional Head for the central region.

Businesses and community members already started to remove water lettuce on 28 January – they removed 70 tonnes then. “We will continue with this project until our river is clean. People are donating funds that will be used to look at sustainable solutions to save the Vaal River. It doesn’t help to ask the government, who has already failed on several levels, to intervene before our ecosystem is further damaged,” says Grobbelaar.

According to Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s manager for Environmental Affairs, this project was an excellent example of the success that can be achieved and the difference that people can make if they work together. “The community sets a good example of what we can achieve if we work together. If it wasn’t for the quick action and willingness of the community, the river would have looked much worse and could have easily turned into something similar to the hyacinth crisis in the Hartbeespoort Dam.”

Members of the public, businesses and organisations who want to get involved in this project can make a donation that will help to fund this project.