Letter: The IRR grounds all its work in classical liberalism - Sowetan

Vuso Shabalala gave some grudging attention to the Institute of Race Relations IRR in his column "Mbeki challenges us to examine reality through lens of others", Sowetan, March 20.

In referring to a talk by Thabo Mbeki at the African Leadership Institute at Unisa, he wrote that Mbeki "opened students' minds by leaning on the speech by the CEO of the Institute of Race Relations which is notorious for rightwing ideas."

While flattered by the attention, we would like to set the record straight. Far from being "rightwing" or indeed "leftwing", the IRR unapologetically grounds all its work in classical liberalism: an effective way to defeat poverty and tyranny through a system of limited government, a market economy, private enterprise, freedom of speech, individual liberty, property rights and the rule of law.

Established in1929, the SA IRR is the country's oldest think tank. It has published the South Africa Survey, a detailed compendium of statistics on all aspects of life in SA, annually since 1948. None other than Nelson Mandela holder of an IRR bursary in the 1940s quoted from the 1963 edition of the Survey in his speech from the dock at the 1964 Rivonia Trial.

In referring to my "Third Age" speech in his 2024 lecture, Mbeki is therefore continuing a wellestablished tradition of ANC leaders citing IRR research. Had Shabalala visited the IRR's website www.irr.org.za , as we invite him and readers of his column to do, he would have found that we cover a vast range of topics.

To name some examples, we have recently published policy papers on how to bring SA's unemployment rate down into the single digits within a decade, and on why the VAT rate should be cut to11.5% to help all South Africans, but especially the poor.

We have released studies on the state of civil liberty in SA and on the quality of life of LGBT South Africans, on the importance of property rights and the integrity of elections, and on much else besides.

The consistent purpose of our work and this has been true for many decades is "to work for peace, goodwill and practical cooperation between the various sections of the people of SA".

John Endres,

CEO of the IRR