Civil rights groups urge a halt to South Africa data centres boom amid water and power fears

South African civil rights groups are calling for a halt to the construction of additional data centres in the country until the use of scarce water, land and electricity resources has been investigated. With South Africa positioning itself as Africa’s main data hub and US technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Equinix increasingly setting up digital infrastructure in the country, civil society organisations have raised the alarm about the lack of transparency around the projects.