In celebration of the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, and in keeping with the theme of ‘take action; inspire change’, staff of the FW de Klerk Foundation and its Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) will be donating their ‘67 minutes’ to Autism Western Cape on Friday, 17 July. The Foundation has a long-standing relationship with Autism Western Cape, which provides support, advisory services, training, counselling and other resources to autistic children and their families – free of charge.

Former President FW de Klerk and the FW de Klerk Foundation would like to offer their heartfelt support to Chaeli and her team as they climb Mount Kilimanjaro in August 2015.

Chaeli’s ambitious goal of becoming the first female quadriplegic to summit Kilimanjaro is yet another example of how this remarkable young woman has chosen to live a full life, despite her disabilities.

The FW de Klerk Foundation has referred comments made by Minister Blade Nzimande on the impermissibility of single-medium Afrikaans universities to the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Commission).

In terms of section 185(1)(a) of the Constitution the Commission is obliged to “promote respect for the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities”; section 185(2) authorises the Commission “to monitor, investigate, research, educate, lobby, advise and report on any issue concerning the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities”.

It is not a great surprise that the Minister of Police, Mr Nkosinathi Nhleko, has published a report that whitewashes the expenditure of R246 million on President Zuma’s retirement home.

The report creatively justifies the expenditure of public funds on features such as the swimming pool, the cattle kraal and the amphitheatre.

The FW de Klerk Foundation and its Centre for Constitutional Rights (the CFCR) join the rest of South Africa – and the continent – in celebrating Africa Day on 25 May.

South Africa has been viewed as a leader in Africa, but following the recent spate of xenophobic attacks, this image has been tarnished. Today, as we celebrate all the peoples of Africa, let us be reminded of the fundamental rights and freedoms our society was founded on.

I am disturbed by the call of the SACP and COSATU for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador following Israel’s refusal to grant Minister Blade Nzimande a visa to hold discussions with the Palestinian authorities in Ramallah.

In a speech in Stellenbosch on 9 March, FW de Klerk said that the Woordfees provided “evidence of the vitality of Afrikaans as the language in which seven million South Africans of all races think, speak, create and dream”.

11 February 1990 was certainly one of the turning points in South Africa’s modern history.