South African civil rights groups are asking for a halt to new data center construction.

They want an investigation into how these projects use scarce water, land, and electricity.

The country is positioning itself as Africa’s main data hub.

Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Equinix are building there.

The South African Human Rights Commission has received over 250 submissions on this issue.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the country hosts 70% of Africa’s data center capacity.

The government sees this as a chance in the global digital economy.

A key concern is transparency.

Dr. Eileen Carter leads the commission’s early process.

She said information on electricity, water, land use, and environmental impacts is often unclear.

One recent approval that drew criticism is an Equinix facility in Cape Town.

That city narrowly avoided a water crisis in 2018.

The facility is estimated to need 160 megawatts of electricity.

Some experts say the call for a pause is not a rejection of foreign investment.

Pitso Tsibolane is a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town.

He said serious investors accept clear rules.

He noted that operators are not required to share their resource use in binding terms.

Operators argue their water use is far below the global average.

They also say data centers are not causing electricity scarcity or higher tariffs.