IRR's Africa Liberty Award win is a victory for all SA's freedom-loving citizens

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is honoured to have received the 2025 Africa Liberty Award from the Atlas Network at a gala event in Nairobi last week. The award, received by the IRR's Makone Maja, recognises "the region’s most outstanding policy accomplishments championing individual rights and economic freedom."

This global recognition is not just a win for the IRR – it is a win for every South African who believes our country can and must be a place of real freedom, opportunity, and prosperity. It is a powerful affirmation that pro-growth reform, non-racial empowerment, and economic liberty form the only credible path forward for a nation burdened by failed state-led interventions and central-planning failures.

At the heart of this achievement lies the IRR’s Blueprint for Growth series – an uncompromising defence of free-market policies that prioritise tax fairness, empowered consumers, and deregulation dividends over wealth redistribution schemes and government-knows-best dogma. Whether advocating for housing vouchers to unlock ownership, proposing how to cut R100 billion in VAT to relieve working families, or exposing the job-killing effects of BEE failures, the IRR continues to lead the national conversation with solutions that build wealth, not dependency.

Says Hermann Pretorius, IRR head of strategic communications: "This award is an international salute to every South African who believes we are not condemned to poverty and decline. It is a victory for all who demand responsible government spending, freedom of choice, and a future where merit, hard work, and enterprise are rewarded – not punished. We are proud to bring it home to South Africa."

In a country where over 12 million people are unemployed and public debt now burdens future generations, this award highlights the urgent need for a new direction: one of consumer-first policies, pro-enterprise reform, and empowerment through ownership.

The IRR calls on all South Africans – in government, business, and civil society – to stand up for a future grounded in liberty and growth. This award is a clear signal: the world is watching, and it is backing South Africa’s freedom-loving people.

Join the IRR's #WhatSACanBe movement to help chart the course toward a truly free and prosperous South Africa: https://irr.org.za/whatsacanbe/join-team-whatsacanbe

Media contact: Hermann Pretorius IRR Head of Strategic Communications Tel: 079 875 4290 Email: hermann@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za