CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
CLEM SUNTER’S LEGACY AFFIRMS THE ROLE OF INDEPENDENT THINKING AND EVIDENCE-LED LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH AFRICA’S DEMOCRACY
The FW de Klerk Foundation honours the life and legacy of Clem Sunter, whose pioneering scenario planning helped South Africans confront the defining political and economic choices of the transition to democracy. The Foundation reflects on how his commitment to independent, evidence-based thinking expanded space for rational debate and informed leadership at a critical historical moment. It affirms the enduring lesson of his work: that democratic resilience depends not only on institutions, but on a culture of rigorous, honest and forward-looking thought.
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK: REFLECTIONS ON SONA 2026 AND SOUTH AFRICA’S WATER RECKONING
Ismail Joosub examines President Ramaphosa’s SONA 2026 water reforms against the reality of South Africa’s deepening water crisis, arguing that governance failure – not natural scarcity – lies at the heart of collapsing services. It analyses the proposed national coordination, infrastructure investment and licensing reforms through a constitutional lens, assessing whether they can restore the right of access to water and reverse decades of municipal decline.
ARE YOUR VOTES IN THE RIGHT WARD? UNDERSTANDING SOUTH AFRICA’S NEW ELECTION BOUNDARIES AHEAD OF 2026
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.
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
ARTICLE: LITIGATION BY THE HELEN SUZMAN FOUNDATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE COVID19 CRISIS
The FW de Klerk foundation welcomes the Helen Suzman Foundation’s (HSF) application, direct to the Constitutional Court, to declare that Parliament, the President and the Cabinet have failed to fulfill their obligations under the Constitution to prepare and adopt legislation to regulate the state’s response to the threat posed by COVID19.
The HSF has asked the Court to direct the Cabinet and Parliament to prepare and adopt such legislation – and to declare that the powers that the Minister of Cooperative Governance has assumed under the Disaster Management Act to manage the crisis will be terminated as soon as the requested legislation has been adopted.
ARTICLE: 75 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR: PART II 1994-2020
This article will consider the factors that have determined the course of events during the past 26 years of ANC rule. They include jockeying for position between the various factions within the Alliance; the contest between ideology and pragmatism; and the temptation to translate political power into personal enrichment.
The first two years of ANC rule represented the golden (but perhaps false) dawn of the new era. South Africa won the Rugby World Cup; Nelson Mandela used his immense charisma to promote reconciliation and national unity. The country was ruled by a Government of National Unity (GNU) that represented 90% of the electorate.
ARTICLE: 75 YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR: PART I 1945‐1994
The 75 years since the end of World War II in Europe have been the most remarkable period in human history. They have witnessed unimaginable economic growth; an explosion in technology; and an enormous expansion of our understanding of the universe, of life and of ourselves. The human condition has improved more rapidly than at any time in history – whether measured by economic wellbeing, longevity, education or freedom.
They have also changed South Africa beyond all recognition.
SPEECHES
EVENTS
THE WATER TANKER MAFIA IS THE NEW FACE OF STATE CAPTURE
In an article, Ismail Joosub considers the recent revelations about water tanker contracts in major metros that suggest that South Africa’s water crisis is being driven not only by failing infrastructure, but by corruption.
FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT CARD: GAINS AMID SERIOUS THREATS – FOUNDATION URGES PRACTICAL FIXES TO PROTECT LIFE, SERVICES AND JOBS
The FW de Klerk Foundation’s Human Rights Report Card assesses South Africans’ enjoyment of constitutional rights and presents over 30 recommendations to strengthen human rights and freedoms.
DANIELA ELLERBECK’S HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT CARD LAUNCH ADDRESS 2026
Support the work of the FW de Klerk Foundation For more information regarding donations contact info@fwdeklerk.org or scan the QR code below DANIELA ELLERBECK’S HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
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