CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
WHEN ANGER FINDS THE WRONG TARGET…XENOPHOBIC PROTESTS AND THE 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
South Africa’s local government elections are approaching at a time of real unemployment, service delivery and governance failures, but xenophobic mobilisation is directing public anger at the wrong target. The article argues that anti-immigrant protests undermine constitutional accountability by replacing demands for competent local government with scapegoating, fear and unlawful vigilantism. The FW de Klerk Foundation warns that South Africa’s genuine grievances must be resolved through the rule of law, democratic accountability and constitutional governance – not hostility toward vulnerable minorities.
FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION: MUNICIPAL COLLAPSE IS A FAILURE TO HONOUR THE CONSTITUTION AHEAD OF THE 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
The FW de Klerk Foundation warns that municipal collapse is not merely a service-delivery failure, but a failure to honour the Constitution’s promise of democratic, accountable and development-oriented local government. With municipal debt to Eskom exceeding R130 billion and governance failures deepening across several municipalities, the Foundation argues that the 2026 Local Government Elections must become a genuine reckoning for elected officials and candidates. The Foundation calls for credible municipal recovery plans, ring-fenced service revenue, merit-based appointments and independent performance data to restore constitutional accountability at local level.
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT MUST REDRESS THE PAST WITHOUT CONTRACTING SOUTH AFRICA INTO RACIAL FOREVERISM
The FW de Klerk Foundation argues that South Africa must pursue meaningful redress for the injustices of apartheid without turning racial classification into a permanent organising principle of public procurement. This article cautions that the Public Procurement Act of 2024 and proposed 2026 regulations risk placing rigid preference mechanisms above fairness, competition, transparency, cost-effectiveness and municipal capacity. The Foundation calls for a more constitutionally disciplined model of procurement that targets real disadvantage, builds supplier capability, fights corruption and advances South Africa towards a genuinely non-racial society.
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
RACE, RIGHTS AND RESOURCES: ANALYSING THE UPRD BILL
The Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill, which seeks to introduce significant amendments to laws governing the exploration and extraction of petroleum resources, will have profound implications for South Africa’s energy sector and constitutional framework.
UPSTREAM PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT BILL SUBMISSION
UPSTREAM PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT BILL SUBMISSION Click here to read the submission.
BELA BILL SUBMISSION NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
BELA BILL SUBMISSION NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES Click here to read the submission.
SPEECHES
PRESIDENT DE KLERK’S SPEECH AFTER THE ADOPTION BY PARLIAMENT OF THE 1993 CONSTITUTION
PRESIDENT DE KLERK’S SPEECH AFTER THE ADOPTION BY PARLIAMENT OF THE 1993 CONSTITUTION EMBARGO: VERGELYK TEEN LEWERING CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY TOESPRAAK BY GELEENTHEID VAN AFSLUITING
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
SPEECH BY PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK ON THE PRESENTATION OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE SPEECH BY THE STATE PRESIDENT, MR F W DE KLERK, ON
THE DISMANTLING OF SOUTH AFRICA’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS
STRICT EMBARGO: 16:45 ON 24 MARCH 1993 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY THE STATE PRESIDENT, MR F W DE KLERK, TO A JOINT
EVENTS
THE WARD COUNCILLOR YOU’VE NEVER MET IS MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR LIFE
As first appeared in Sunday World. With local election turnout declining and youth disengagement deepening, too many South Africans remain disconnected from the ward councillors and municipalities that shape their daily lives. A new civic research initiative seeks to turn citizens’ experiences into evidence that can strengthen democratic participation, service delivery and municipal accountability ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM: A JAZZ ICON OF INTERNATIONAL STATURE
Abdullah Ibrahim’s influence extends far beyond the distinctive sounds of District Six, the townships, and the broader narrative of Africa’s struggle against injustice. Through his compositions, he endowed African jazz with symphonic depth and elevated it to the international stage. His legacy lives on in the communities where he laid the groundwork for the next generation of jazz musicians. It lives on across both local and international stages. It lives on in every musician who pays tribute to him by interpreting his music as their own.
THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION URGES PARLIAMENT TO ACT ON R1 BILLION MILITARY HOSPITAL FAILURE
The FW de Klerk Foundation urges Parliament to act to ensure that public funds are used efficiently, economically, effectively, and transparently. The Foundation is concerned about the repair and maintenance project at Tshwane’s 1 Military Hospital. More than R1 billion has been spent, yet the project remains incomplete. Government is now considering a new facility.
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
- Equality
- Non-racialism
- Gender Rights
- The Constitution
- The Rule of Law
- Multiparty Democracy
- Personal Rights
- Cultural, Religious and Language Rights
- Freedom of Expression and Political Rights
- Social and Economic Rights
- Property Rights
- Education
- Access To The Courts, Information And Fair Adminstration