The civil rights watchdog AfriForum, in cooperation with AfriForum Youth and the Ray Nkonyeni Local Municipality, recently replaced several stop signs in Uvongo, Margate and Ramsgate.
This follows after the community reported that stop signs at various crossings in these towns were missing and thus made these crossings dangerous for motorists and pedestrians.
AfriForum addressed a request to the Municipality to replace the stop signs and in doing so also reinforce the relationship between the Municipality and the local AfriForum branch. The Municipality reacted extremely positively to this and planning was commenced immediately.
“The Municipality welcomed this partnership, because we believe that the local government affects everyone and it supports our vision to work with our stakeholders for a safe and healthy environment. AfriForum always provides honest feedback, which encourages the Municipality to improve on weaknesses that are identified,” says Maxwell Mbili, the Municipal Manager.
Dewald Smith from AfriForum Youth expresses his hope that through this project they could make a contribution toward securing these towns’ roads and in this way prevent road accidents.
“The community’s safety is a priority for us,” adds Wessel Pretorius, Chairperson of the AfriForum branch in Margate.
Eugene van Aswegen, AfriForum’s Provincial Coordinator for KwaZulu-Natal, wants to emphasise how important the cooperation between AfriForum and the local municipality is for them. “It’s very favourable that the Municipality wants to cooperate in initiatives that make a difference in the community. For that reason, we directed the invitation to build partnerships and will continue to liaise with the Municipality to also pay attention to other problems,” he says.