WHY DIVERSITY MATTERS
2026-09-30
Diversity can be a mechanism for nation-building, because it can strengthen social cohesion and opens up economic value chains.
Diversity can be a mechanism for nation-building, because it can strengthen social cohesion and opens up economic value chains.
The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the Speaker of the National Assembly’s confirmation that its submission on parliamentary disruptions has been shared with the National Assembly Rules Committee. The Foundation’s research highlights both the constitutional and financial costs of disruptions that undermine Parliament’s oversight role. It calls for consistent enforcement of the rules, appropriate penalties and clear feedback on how its recommendations will be taken forward.
The FW de Klerk Foundation’s Local Government Report Card 2026 argues that municipal failure is not inevitable, but the result of identifiable institutional weaknesses that can be measured and addressed. Assessing 50 municipalities against 100 objective tests, the report highlights where local government is improving, where it is failing and what distinguishes high-performing municipalities from those in decline. It offers practical, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen constitutional governance, improve service delivery and make municipal recovery measurable.
The FW de Klerk Foundation’s Local Government Report Card 2026 provides an independent, non-partisan assessment of municipal performance and constitutional accountability across South Africa. Using 100 published tests across five key pillars, it evaluates 50 municipalities and highlights the institutional factors that drive success or failure in local government. The report offers evidence-based insights into the state of municipal governance and demonstrates that effective, constitutional local government is achievable.
Christo van der Rheede, Executive Director at the FW de Klerk Foundation was invited by the Remgro Foundation to speak at their annual leadership conference. His topic focused on education, the key to a better future.
The University of the Free State (UFS) Business School officially commenced its academic cycle with its flagship virtual student engagement and orientation experience, “Be Worth More 2026”. Gathering nearly 80 postgraduate students—including ambitious professionals embarking on their MBA, PGDip, and BML studies via Microsoft Teams, the programme set a transformative tone centred on fostering a deep sense of belonging, active participation, and long-term societal impact.
The Constitutional Court’s Tafelberg judgment confirms that well-located public land cannot be treated merely as a commercial asset when it can help reverse apartheid’s spatial legacy. Where affordable housing is built matters, because access to employment, transport, education and essential services forms part of meaningful access to adequate housing. Municipalities and provinces must therefore manage and dispose of public land transparently, with genuine public participation and proper regard for its constitutional value.
The 2026 GTAC Public Economics Conference highlighted a central truth: South Africa’s employment crisis cannot be solved by training people for jobs that do not exist. Sustainable progress requires evidence-based policy, smarter public spending and greater support for the informal, township and rural economies where millions already earn their livelihoods. Ultimately, the Constitution demands a state that protects dignity, removes barriers to opportunity and measures success by real outcomes rather than the number of programmes funded.
Xenophobic violence is no longer only a domestic law-and-order concern; it is placing South Africa’s regional trade relationships, diplomatic credibility and continental standing at risk. With billions of dollars in trade flowing between South Africa and its neighbours, even limited disruption caused by consumer backlash, logistical delays and declining trust could carry serious economic consequences. South Africa must therefore combine lawful migration enforcement with decisive prosecutions, diplomatic engagement and firm protection of constitutional order.