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The Free Market Foundation, founded in 1975, is an independent public benefit organisation that promotes and fosters an open society, the rule of law, personal liberty, and economic and press freedom.

News

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SA education: Time to give black parents and children more choices

04 December 2020

SA education: Time to give black parents and children more choices...

Reform the labour market or subsidise employment more heavily

03 December 2020

Reform the labour market or subsidise employment more heavily...

We can no longer ignore the effects of the minimum wage and other bad laws

02 December 2020

We can no longer ignore the effects of the minimum wage and other bad laws...

FMF NEWSLETTER 2 December 2020

02 December 2020

Weekly newsletter...

Media release: ULTRA Amendment Bill will deprive millions of property rights

30 November 2020

“The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, ULTRA, is arguably South Africa’s most important law, yet very few know about it....

FMF NEWSLETTER 25 November 2020

25 November 2020

Weekly newsletter...

Minimum wage laws lead to surging youth unemployment

24 November 2020

Minimum wage laws lead to surging youth unemployment...

Indien sosialisme ons voorland is, wag daar gróót moeilikheid

23 November 2020

Indien sosialisme ons voorland is, wag daar gróót moeilikheid...

FMF NEWSLETTER 19 November 2020

19 November 2020

Weekly newsletter...

Why SA should reform indigenous common law for the modern era

17 November 2020

Why SA should reform indigenous common law for the modern era...

Consumer rights

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Prohibition has never and will never lead to smokers quitting

30 July 2020

Prohibition has never and will never lead to smokers quitting...

For each day of cigarette ban, South Africa loses 1.5 community clinics

10 July 2020

Appropriately, on the same day, Africa Check confirmed that the government is losing around R35 million per day in excise taxes for tobacco products. ...

FMF CEO STATEMENT: On the declaration of the illegality of lockdown regulations

03 June 2020

FMF CEO STATEMENT: On the declaration of the illegality of lockdown regulations...

FMF CEO Statement: From which planet our lockdown tobacco law?

24 May 2020

CEO statement: From which planet our lockdown tobacco law?...

Media release: Signs that cigarette ban may last to level 1; it should be reversed immediately

22 May 2020

Media release: Signs that cigarette ban may last to level 1; it should be reversed immediately...

Why is profit so maligned when it is the result of consumers’ choice?

28 January 2020

Defending the idea of profit will, in these enlightened days, immediately split the room. If you follow politics in the US, watch how campaigners Bernie...

Economic freedom / Growth

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Indien sosialisme ons voorland is, wag daar gróót moeilikheid

23 November 2020

Indien sosialisme ons voorland is, wag daar gróót moeilikheid...

In keeping SAA, government shows where its priorities lie

13 November 2020

In keeping SAA, government shows where its priorities lie...

Mboweni’s promises, contradictions and lunacies

11 November 2020

Cabinet meetings must be fun. Ministers make mutually exclusive proposals to which all agree. No-one says “Hey, doesn’t that contradict what we’ve just decided?”...

Pondering the minutiae of the Economic Recovery Plan is a waste of time

11 November 2020

The only way to know that is to see where it will take the country on the annual Economic Freedom of the World Index (EFW)...

Economic freedom of Mauritius explains its current success

10 November 2020

Economic freedom of Mauritius explains its current success...

Why economic freedom is vital for SA's future prosperity

06 November 2020

Why economic freedom is vital for SA's future prosperity...

Social media capitalism and its robber barons, influencers and content creators

30 October 2020

Social media capitalism and its robber barons, influencers and content creators...

Media release: South Africa cannot afford another hard lockdown

27 October 2020

If reports that South Africa could again enter a hard lockdown are correct, then this will have dire consequences for citizens and the economy....

Without economic freedom, South Africans will never grow their own wealth pies

26 October 2020

Without economic freedom, South Africans will never grow their own wealth pies...

Media release: Retirement fund announcement reflects a doomsday mentality

19 October 2020

This move, like too many others, reflects a doomsday mentality amongst the people we rely on to encourage optimism. ...

Energy

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FMF CEO STATEMENT: Eskom and Matjhabeng municipal farms scandal went unnoticed

18 September 2020

What do expropriation without compensation (EWC), Eskom and municipalities have in common? Nothing, unfortunately. At least not in popular discourse....

Eskom’s troubles laid bare

31 January 2020

Eskom is in trouble. It is drowning in debt and cannot meet the demand for electricity. ...

Submission on Eskom's Revenue Clearing Account Application, 2020

22 January 2020

The FMF's submission on Eskom's 2020 revenue clearing account application...

Necsa ruling highlights ministerial overreach

22 January 2020

On 15 January 2020 the remaining members of the Radebe appointed Necsa Board resigned citing a 'dysfunctional' relationship with Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe....

Financial sector

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Our country can no longer afford foreign exchange controls

14 February 2020

In 1995, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced a five-year “phasing-out process” because as he said, “the rand is not under our control …”...

Healthcare

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Ideal time to push ahead with health-care reforms

11 November 2020

Ideal time to push ahead with health-care reforms...

Overcoming obstacles to medicines access - Joint policy recommendations to the 2020 World Health Assembly

05 November 2020

Overcoming obstacles to medicines access - Joint policy recommendations to the 2020 World Health Assembly...

Media release: To promote access to Covid-19 medicines, keep trade free and remove tax and regulatory obstacles, says international think tank coalition

05 November 2020

As member states of the World Health Organization gather next week in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, a global coalition of 29 think tanks...

Covid-19 and the case against a state-run National Health Insurance

21 September 2020

Covid-19 and the case against a state-run National Health Insurance...

NHI will only 'plague' private sector with public health corruption

07 September 2020

NHI will only 'plague' private sector with public health corruption...

Which is better in a pandemic - privately funded or government funded healthcare?

30 July 2020

Which is better in a pandemic - privately funded or government funded healthcare?...

The COVID-19 response shows government can't handle NHI

15 July 2020

South Africa's government-imposed COVID-19 lockdown was supposedly instituted to buy the government time to manage the spread of the virus, and to allow the public...

Time in lockdown has been wasted

10 June 2020

Time in lockdown has been wasted...

The Medical Aid Conundrum

21 May 2020

The Medical Aid Conundrum...

To tackle COVID-19 we need trade collaboration and innovation

18 May 2020

To tackle COVID-19 we need trade collaboration and innovation ...

Labour

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Reform the labour market or subsidise employment more heavily

03 December 2020

Reform the labour market or subsidise employment more heavily...

We can no longer ignore the effects of the minimum wage and other bad laws

02 December 2020

We can no longer ignore the effects of the minimum wage and other bad laws...

Minimum wage laws lead to surging youth unemployment

24 November 2020

Minimum wage laws lead to surging youth unemployment...

Unemployment: The dream is still deferred

06 October 2020

Unemployment: The dream is still deferred...

Any job is better than no job; any income better than none

23 September 2020

Any job is better than no job; any income better than none...

Bulelani Qolani and the problem of urban land reform

21 July 2020

Bulelani Qolani and the problem of urban land reform...

Small businesses hit hard by national lockdown

17 April 2020

Small businesses hit hard by national lockdown...

Land reform

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Media release: ULTRA Amendment Bill will deprive millions of property rights

30 November 2020

“The Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, ULTRA, is arguably South Africa’s most important law, yet very few know about it....

Media release: Minister of Human Settlement, Mr Tertius Simmers, Stellenbosch Executive Mayor van Deventer, and the FMF’s Khaya Lam Director, Temba Nolutshungu, deliver title deeds to front gates in Pniel, Stellenbosch

27 October 2020

The Free Market Foundation’s (FMF) Khaya Lam (My Home) land reform project, touched the lives of another 16 families on Thursday 22 October in Stellenbosch,...

Media releas: A further 162 title deeds in Kwakwatsi, Ngwathe, Free State

15 October 2020

On 14 October 2020, a further 162 fully tradeable free hold title deeds were presented to residents of Kwakwatsi, Ngwathe, Northern Free State, also known...

Media release: Full title deeds through Bond Cancellation. Land Reform breakthrough by Remgro, Cederberg Municipality and FMF in Clanwilliam, Western Cape

12 October 2020

On 8 October 2020, in a landmark event for the FMF's Khaya Lam (My Home) Land Reform Project, Remgro Limited and the Cederberg Municipality, for...

Media release: Government starts to release state owned farms to landless blacks – but no full title for 30 years

07 October 2020

Yet again government is failing to grasp an opportunity to redistribute state owned land to landless black citizens on full freehold title. Instead it is...

Media release: The S25 Amendment Bill must not proceed

30 September 2020

Blaming the Constitution for government failure to act on land reform is absurd, yet, this is exactly what the Section 25 Amendment Bill is doing....

The latest economic freedom report shows a worrying decline of property rights in SA

25 September 2020

The latest economic freedom report shows a worrying decline of property rights in SA...

Land tenure bill must extend rights to women, not remove them from everybody

11 September 2020

Land tenure bill must extend rights to women, not remove them from everybody...

Amendments to the land rights bill would be a great injustice

01 September 2020

Amendments to the land rights bill would be a great injustice...

The importance of secure property rights for women

21 August 2020

The importance of secure property rights for women...

Rule of law / Law

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Why SA should reform indigenous common law for the modern era

17 November 2020

Why SA should reform indigenous common law for the modern era...

Media release: The Economic Regulation of Transport Bill (B1-2020) should be abandoned

06 November 2020

The Economic Regulation of Transport Bill (B1-2020) published for public comment is problematic across three broad areas. ...

The pending Sports Bill would violate the Rule of Law

30 October 2020

The pending Sports Bill would violate the Rule of Law...

Only a free market and disciplined Parliament can end corruption

18 September 2020

Only a free market and disciplined Parliament can end corruption...

As the lockdown is normalised, is the rule of man overriding our liberties?

15 September 2020

As the lockdown is normalised, is the rule of man overriding our liberties?...

How the language of lockdown undermines the rule of law

08 September 2020

How the language of lockdown undermines the rule of law – Rex van Schalkwyk...

Media release: Ministerial discretion under the ULTRA Amendment Bill will cause land dispossession on a huge scale

20 August 2020

The Upgrading or Land Tenure Rights Act (ULTRA) is arguably democratic South Africa’s most important law....

Media release: Draft regulations on Film and Publications Board are Internet Censorship

18 August 2020

Media release: Draft regulations on Film and Publications Board are Internet Censorship...

Ban government from providing taxpayer-guaranteed debt assistance to SOEs

05 August 2020

Ban government from providing taxpayer-guaranteed debt assistance to SOEs ...

Proposed lockdown 'developmental mandate' for the Reserve Bank is unconstitutional

31 July 2020

Proposed lockdown 'developmental mandate' for the Reserve Bank is unconstitutional...

Transformation

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SA education: Time to give black parents and children more choices

04 December 2020

SA education: Time to give black parents and children more choices...

#WeSeeYou: Put government on trial for the profound injustice

23 October 2020

#WeSeeYou: Put government on trial for the profound injustice...

Gauteng townships deserve real development, which includes skilled foreign entrepreneurs

09 October 2020

Gauteng townships deserve real development, which includes skilled foreign entrepreneurs...

The West may have to fight each other off for African labour to sustain welfare states

14 August 2020

The West may have to fight each other off for African labour to sustain welfare states...

Taxing inheritance will entrench, not decrease, racial inequality

07 August 2020

Taxing inheritance will entrench, not decrease, racial inequality...

WhatsApp stokvels: Liberalise informal banking sector to fuel growth

17 July 2020

WhatsApp stokvels: Liberalise informal banking sector to fuel growth...

Radical economic transformation to end poverty by being radically rational

08 July 2020

South Africans are entering a period of hardship like none we have seen before....

We need government, but we need civil society even more

03 July 2020

I was sitting at my desk when the whole world started shaking violently....

Draconian lockdown forces hard choices

01 July 2020

The negative effects of South Africa's hard lockdown continue to reverberate through the economy and broader society. ...

Beware the funding decisions of government, the youth will pay

23 June 2020

Beware the funding decisions of government, the youth will pay...

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