Staff Reporter
AfriForum and March and March have agreed to jointly pursue legal matters of “mutual interest” and cooperate on issues including the rule of law, crime and illegal migration, following talks between the two organisations.
The agreement emerged from a meeting between a March and March delegation this week led by founder Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel and other representatives of the civil rights organisation.
The organisations also identified community organisation, socio-economic capacity building, mother-language education, access to education and peaceful coexistence as potential areas of collaboration.
At a press briefing in early August, Ngobese-Zuma said March and March had established the SA First Forum and the M&M Foundation, both of which were modelled on AfriForum.
She said the SA First Forum would focus on human rights violations, the enforcement of immigration laws, support for criminal prosecutions where legally permitted, class actions, legal education, and advocacy.
AfriForum has made litigation a prominent part of its advocacy and operates a Private Prosecution Unit, headed by former state prosecutor Gerrie Nel, which pursues cases where the National Prosecuting Authority declines or fails to prosecute.
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Kriel said ideological or policy differences should not prevent organisations from working together where they had common interests.
“One can choose to cooperate where we agree and where we share common interests. We cannot allow differences on specific matters to stand in the way of cooperation that would benefit our children,” Kriel said.
Ngobese-Zuma said the relationship would be based on mutual respect and an acceptance that the organisations would continue to disagree on some issues.
“The Movement believes that a healthy relationship between the two entities takes into account that, while they share many issues of common interest, there are also matters on which they will disagree,” she said.
“The relationship is therefore based on mutual respect, with both parties agreeing to complement and challenge one another in pursuit of the shared objective of building a united South Africa that acknowledges diversity.”
March and March said its approach was centred on universal human rights, education, the rule of law and creating systems through which communities could cooperate and hold government accountable.
Ngobese-Zuma also raised concerns about border security, illicit trade, crime and corruption.
“The Movement believes that unsecured borders have serious consequences for the ailing economy. The skyrocketing trade in illicit goods are affecting businesses and may result in job losses,” she said.
“Crime continues to ravage communities, and civic movements should work together to put systems in place to ensure the creation of safer communities.”
The talks also covered what the organisations described as failures in border control, crime prevention and public education, as well as possible community-led responses.
Agricultural development, the preservation of identity and heritage, education, training and skills development were identified as other areas where communities could cooperate.
Kriel said AfriForum was prepared to share lessons from its development over the past two decades.
“AfriForum is willing to share, humbly and openly, what has worked and what has not worked for us during the past 20 years as we built this organisation from the ground up to a membership of 300 000,” he said.
“We look forward to working with March and March in their effort to establish a community-focused organisation that can improve the lives of ordinary people at grassroots level.”
AfriForum’s head of intercultural relations and cooperation, Barend Uys, said the organisation already worked with a number of traditional and community organisations, including AmaBhele KaJamangile, Barolong Boo Seleka, Batlharo Boo Tokwana Ba Ga Masibi and the Royal Leaders of South Africa.
Kriel also criticised government policy in South Africa and the Southern African region, saying “poor government policies and obsolete ideologies are at the root of many of the challenges facing communities across the SADC region”.
He said that the ANC-led government “does nothing to encourage countries in the region to adopt policies that would improve conditions in their own countries and curb the unlawful influx into South Africa (of illegal immigrants)”.
He said it was clear that “the ANC and the government it leads do not put the interests of citizens first, but rather their own interests and those of their longstanding political and ideological allies”.
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