Ismail Joosub and Thando Malinga explain the role of the Municipal Demarcation Board and the Independent Electoral Commission in aligning over 27 million voters with new ward maps, why this administrative process carries democratic significance and what these changes mean for ordinary voters.
VVC v JRM clarifies how South African law treats couples who first marry under customary law and later conclude a civil marriage. The Court held this is one continuous marriage, not a new one. Rights and obligations from the customary marriage continue and property accumulated remains protected. Spouses cannot informally change proprietary rights; any change to the matrimonial property system requires court approval under section 21 of the Matrimonial Property Act. Interpreting section 10(2) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act with the MPA, the judgment advances equality, dignity, the protection of property rights and legal certainty, protecting vulnerable spouses and creditors.
South Africans live with the consequences of municipal collapse every day – from water outages to uncollected refuse and crumbling infrastructure. The Foundation’s submission on COGTA’s Draft Regulations sets out how performance management can be rebuilt on constitutional values like accountability, openness and responsiveness. The Foundation proposed reforms that give communities a real voice, ensure lawful oversight, and create clear lines of responsibility so that municipalities can get back to delivering the services people depend on.
The FW de Klerk Foundation’s submission regarding the Draft amendments to the Local Government: Municipal Planning and Performance Management Regulations.
The FW de Klerk Foundation is pleased to have Mpone Komako on board as an online intern.
AGOA’s renewal offers welcome short-term certainty for South African exporters, workers and communities after months of trade uncertainty. But continued US tariffs are eroding the real benefits of preferential access, placing jobs, competitiveness and value chains under growing pressure. This moment must be used wisely to protect livelihoods and to pursue diversified, constitutionally grounded trade and economic reforms for the future.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢’𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?
In this week’s Constitutional Rights Wrap, Daniela Ellerbeck – an attorney and Manager of the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme – unpacks the Foundation’s submission on the Draft Amendments to the Local Government: Municipal Planning and Performance Management Regulations of 2026.
She also explores how the government could use the Constitution as a practical roadmap for performance management of municipalities.
The FW de Klerk Foundation takes great pleasure in hosting our Annual Conference to commemorate the 36th Anniversary of FW de Klerk’s speech that opened the way to South Africa’s constitutional transformation.
The FW de Klerk Foundation makes an urgent request for processing of ERCP consolidated report on electoral reform ahead of 2029 elections.
