Court tells government to give basic amenities to the people of Pomfret

After the Land Claims Court in Randburg, Johannesburg, ordered two national government departments to supply them with basic services, the hamlet of Pomfret in the North West said it hopes to get access to basic services shortly.

On behalf of the predominantly Portuguese-speaking community, the Dutch Reformed Church sought the court.

Inhabitants claim that once the government transferred some residents to Mahikeng in 2008, service delivery came to a halt.

According to Mario Hongolo, a local church leader, they are living in terrible poverty.

“Water truck is not enough because maybe in a week it comes twice. We do not have [a] clinic here. We used to have it but the government removed it. In Pomfret [we do not have] electricity. I think it’s eight or nine years without [having] electricity. In this community, it is very bad. So I think the court order is fine and it will assist to bring everything [service delivery] back here,” says Hongolo.

Pomfret is a ghost town with only 328 residents.

Mostly former 32 Battalion Angolan war veterans.

They were moved here in 1989 after fighting alongside the apartheid government.

It was formerly a proud military base camp with cutting-edge facilities, but it is now mostly in ruins.

Pomfret residents have refused to relocate to more livable regions.

The video below is reporting on the relocation attempts by the government:

The community of Pomfret doesn’t have a lot of people living there, the last head count conducted revealed that they have only 300+ citizens.

These people are not living in the best conditions of life because of the rate of poverty.