Jack and Jill went down the hill...
30 April 2015 – The IRR’s Fast Facts report published this week takes a glance at South Africa’s ‘born frees’, defined as people born in or after 1990. As the figures show, born frees have not been guaranteed free passage to prosperity by political freedom. The road to a better life is fraught with major hurdles, mainly poor education and high unemployment.
Jacob Zuma has released a statement announcing sweeping changes to his cabinet
31 March 2017 – The most important change is that Malusi Gigaba has replaced Pravin Gordhan as Minister of Finance while Sfiso Buthelezi has been appointed as the Deputy Minister of Finance.
John Kane-Berman's column moves to Moneyweb
25 January 2016 – IRR consultant and former CEO Mr John Kane-Berman’s long-running column in Business Day has moved to Moneyweb.
Labour market absorption rate slips – IRR
11 February 2016 – In its South Africa Survey 2016, released this month, the IRR identified that South Africa’s labour market absorption rate has fallen since 2001.
Land reform without tears
24 May 2016 – Miraculously, despite the Land Acts, South Africa is in the fortunate position that demand for farm land can probably be met without the disruptions, risks, and costs of radical redistribution.
Law and (dis)order
6 November 2014 – Crime in South Africa: The number of very violent robberies has increased, as has the number of arrests. However, the number of convictions is falling. Therefore, many perpetrators are arrested but not convicted
Liberation for the ‘born frees’
10 September 2014 – A voucher system for school education would do more than anything else to liberate South Africa's generation of ‘born frees’.
Man-made climate change is not a threat at all
24 November 2015 – “Our planet faces many environmental threats, such as over-fishing in our oceans and the devastation of wild animals in Africa. But manmade climate change is no threat at all.”
Lies of the land – government’s deeply questionable Land Audit
27 March 2018 - Who Owns the Land? notes that aside from numerous errors in its texts and tables, the Audit does not support many of the claims that have been made.
Life in South Africa much better than in 1994 – Think tank report
8 November 2016 - The IRR has released a report titled Life in South Africa: Reasons for Hope, that sets out the social and economic progress our country has made since 1994. The report found progress in areas ranging from the economy to crime, education, healthcare and living standards.
The IRR puts out in the region of 50 media releases annually drawing attention to its major research and policy findings.
Mining and People: The Impact of Mining on the South African Economy and Living Standards
6 February 2018 - “Mining and People: The Impact of Mining on the South African Economy and Living Standards”, latest @Liberty report from the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), is a comprehensive survey of mining’s critical role in the economy and in the lives of people, both in mining communities and far beyond them.
Mining does not get the credit it deserves for its contribution to the South African economy
15 February 2017 – South Africa's mining industry must start blowing its own trumpet. The mining sector does not get the credit it deserves for its contribution to the South African economy, says a paper published today by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR).
More South Africans receive grants than have jobs – a recipe for chaos and violence
21 June 2017 – There are more people receiving social grants in South Africa than there are people with jobs. This is the finding from the latest South Africa Survey published by the IRR last week.
Murders of police officers have decreased over the past 20 years
28 June 2017 – The rate at which police officers are being murdered has fallen significantly over the past twenty years, according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR).
New BEE regulations will promote corruption and harm service delivery
22 July 2015 – The IRR has warned that draft regulations published last week will increase the costs of goods and services procured by the Government and thereby harm service delivery.
New IRR report says South Africa’s politicians need new policy focus on cancer
1 June 2017 – The IRR has released a report on the extent to which cancer and other non-communicable diseases affect South Africans. The report was released to coincide with National Cancer Survivors Day this coming Sunday, 4 June 2017.
Newly published scenarios explain whether South Africa’s rainbow nation ideal will survive the next decade
30 May 2017 – A new set of scenarios explaining how South Africa’s long-term future will unfold has been released in the form of a book titled A Time Traveller’s Guide to South Africa in 2030.
No convincing health rationale for the sugar tax
15 September 2016 - The National Treasury has no convincing reason to believe that its proposed 20% excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) will be effective against obesity, says the IRR in a policy paper on the proposed tax, published yesterday.
No scientific basis to climate change scare
25 November 2015 – “Belief that mankind is changing the climate in a dangerous way has become a ruling ideology of today,” writes Andrew Kenny, an engineer and energy expert, in the latest issue of @Liberty, the policy bulletin of the IRR.
