FreeFACTS - June 2022
18 August 2022 - This edition of FreeFACTS looks at local by-election results and asks what portents they hold for South African politics as we move to the 2024 national election.
Tributes on the passing of John Stuart Kane-Berman
15 August 2022 – A collation of tributes, obituaries and expressions of condolence on the death of veteran liberal and former CEO of the Institute of Race Relations, John Kane-Berman.
FreeFACTS - May 2022
This edition of FreeFACTS looks at the impact of Covid on tourism in South Africa. Although there has been a slight recovery at the beginning of this year, the numbers of foreign visitors are still far below what they were before the outbreak of the pandemic.
21 June 2022 – In this submission to the National Coronavirus Command Council in support of the Proposal to Repeal National Health Act Regulations on the Critical Control Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Institute of Race Relations endorses Health Minister Joe Phaahla’s call to lift the mask mandates, vaccine passes and capacity limits on gatherings.
15 June 2022 – In this submission to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, the Institute of Race Relations recommends withdrawing some damaging amendments, and giving more time to evaluating the others, in order to the meet the primary objective of embracing real reforms aimed at effectively improving the quality of schooling.
9 June 2022 – In this Supplementary Submission, the Institute of Race Relations urges the Department of Social Development to withdraw the poorly drafted Draft Non-Profit Organisations Amendment Bill of 2021 and replace it with a single composite measure in due course.
1 June 2022 – More than 23 000 South Africans endorsed this Institute of Race Relations (IRR) petition urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to refer the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 back to the National Assembly for reconsideration on the grounds that the draft law is both substantively and procedurally unconstitutional.
FreeFACTS - April 2022
1 June 2022 - This edition of our monthly bulletin looks at inflation trends in South Africa. It acknowledges that inflation has been generally kept under control in post-apartheid South Africa but strong inflationary pressures are brewing.
27 May 2022 – In this submission to the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, the Institute of Race Relations argues that the Climate Change Bill of 2022 is unconstitutional, both procedurally and in terms of its substantive content, and warns that, if enacted, it will over-burden an already failing state and have many other adverse consequences, including exacerbating indoor pollution, crippling the economy, and pushing up already astronomical unemployment rates.
Most South African Youth will not find work: What can be done to avoid a mounting disaster
19 May 2022 - This Special Report looks at structural youth unemployment in South Africa. It finds that most people aged 24 – 34 are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and that most teens are doomed to a similar fate unless structural obstacles are removed. Three practical, positive steps forward are recommended.
FreeFACTS - March 2022
25 April 2022 - This edition of FreeFACTS looks at trends regarding investment in South Africa. For South Africa to become a prosperous country it needs high levels of investment, which it is simply not receiving now.
FreeFACTS - February 2022
16 April 2022 - The latest edition of FreeFACTS looks at unemployment. The figures make for sobering reader and show that unemployment in South Africa is nothing short of a crisis. In parts of the country more than 50% of people have no work. This issue warns that something must be done soon.
