CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
THE ANATOMY OF A MUNICIPAL MELTDOWN: THE CRISIS IN NELSON MANDELA BAY
The oversight engagement conducted by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in May 2026 has laid bare a grim reality: Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Metropolitan Municipality is in the throes of a systemic collapse.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESET MUST BRING THE CONSTITUTION HOME
The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the Reviewed Draft White Paper on Local Government and argues that South Africa’s municipal crisis requires a constitutional reset rather than isolated technical fixes. The statement highlights the importance of accountable, professional and depoliticised local government that can give practical meaning to constitutional rights through reliable service delivery and responsive governance. It further cautions that reform must strengthen local democracy, municipal autonomy and public participation while restoring trust in local government institutions.
CAN TECHNOLOGY SAVE DEMOCRACY? A LOOK INTO AI AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
As South Africa approaches the 2026 local government elections, the growing role of artificial intelligence presents both democratic risks and democratic opportunities. While misinformation, synthetic media and declining public trust threaten electoral integrity, technology can also strengthen civic education, improve access to verified information and reconnect young people to democratic participation. The real challenge is therefore not whether technology can save democracy, but whether it can be responsibly used to strengthen constitutional resilience, public trust and active citizenship.
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SUBMISSION OF THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION ON THE EXPROPRIATION BILL
Submission of the FW de Klerk Foundation on the Expropriation Bill Issued By the FW de Klerk Foundation on 13/03/2023 On 6 March, the
THE FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION CHALLENGES BELA BILL’S EROSION OF LANGUAGE RIGHTS
The FW de Klerk Foundation submitted written comments to the Minister of Basic Education today regarding the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, which proposes to amend
BUILDING A SOUTH AFRICA IN WHICH WOMEN ENJOY ALL THE RIGHTS, FREEDOMS & LIBERTIES THAT OUR CONSTITUTION GUARANTEES
Each year, on the 9th of August, South Africans pay tribute to the thousands of women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on
SPEECHES
EVENTS
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.
SUBMISSION ON REVIEWED DRAFT WHITE PAPER ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The FW de Klerk Foundation’s submission on reviewed draft white paper on local government
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.
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