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News

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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....

Only a free market and disciplined Parliament can end corruption

18 September 2020

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

Perils of rising state power and dwindling personal rights

17 September 2020

Perils of rising state power and dwindling personal rights...

FMF NEWSLETTER 16 September 2020

17 September 2020

Weekly newsletter...

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?...

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...

Media release: Global economic freedom was up slightly in the past year — South Africa ranks 90th among 162 jurisdictions

11 September 2020

Johannesburg, South Africa — South Africa ranks 90th out of 162 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual...

Media release: FMF tribute to George Bizos

11 September 2020

We mourn the death of George Bizos, anti-apartheid icon and lifelong human rights advocate, who died on 9 September 2020 at the age of 92....

FMF NEWSLETTER 10 September 2020

10 September 2020

Weekly newsletter...

Media release: New Chair and Deputy for the FMF – Lawrence Mavundla and Johanna McDowell

09 September 2020

New Chair and Deputy for the FMF...

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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Perils of rising state power and dwindling personal rights

17 September 2020

Perils of rising state power and dwindling personal rights...

Media release: Global economic freedom was up slightly in the past year — South Africa ranks 90th among 162 jurisdictions

11 September 2020

Johannesburg, South Africa — South Africa ranks 90th out of 162 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual...

South Africa's political culture promotes government neglect

08 September 2020

South Africa's political culture promotes government neglect...

Tread carefully with calls for ‘free data’ because it’s another promise government might not fulfil

31 August 2020

Tread carefully with calls for ‘free data’ because it’s another promise government might not fulfil...

Why state stimulus measures are like (bad) karma

20 August 2020

Why state stimulus measures are like (bad) karma...

For SA to prosper the state must stop trying to kill the private sector

11 August 2020

For SA to prosper the state must stop trying to kill the private sector...

Media release: Government should not infringe on private property rights to advance 5G

05 August 2020

Media release: Government should not infringe on private property rights to advance 5G...

The Competition Commission gets 'excessive pricing' totally wrong

28 July 2020

The Competition Commission gets 'excessive pricing' totally wrong...

Patrick Mahomes's $503 million contract offers a crucial lesson in value creation and economic freedom

28 July 2020

Patrick Mahomes's $503 million contract offers a crucial lesson in value creation and economic freedom...

Proposed amendment of PFMA deserves multi-partisan support

22 July 2020

Proposed amendment of PFMA deserves multi-partisan support...

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 …”...

The simple reason why a state bank is unnecessary

25 September 2019

There’s nothing about South Africa that makes it impossible to start a successful business here. Nothing that is, except the government. ...

Healthcare

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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 ...

Lessons from Spain: Covid-19 exposed the inefficiency of a National Health Service

07 May 2020

Lessons from Spain: Covid-19 exposed the inefficiency of a National Health Service...

Opinion: Nationalising healthcare to save lives in SA, a disastrous consideration

30 April 2020

Opinion: Nationalising healthcare to save lives in SA, a disastrous consideration...

Opinion: A call for strengthened private and public healthcare systems in time of COVID-19

28 April 2020

Opinion: A call for strengthened private and public healthcare systems in time of COVID-19...

Media release: World Intellectual Property Day: IP More Important Than Ever In The Age Of COVID-19

24 April 2020

Media release: World Intellectual Property Day: IP More Important Than Ever In The Age Of COVID-19...

Labour

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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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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...

EWC is a zero-sum game that will lead to more poverty and misery

05 August 2020

EWC is a zero-sum game that will lead to more poverty and misery...

EWC not the answer for post-COVID-19 South Africa

29 July 2020

EWC not the answer for post-COVID-19 South Africa...

Land expropriation without compensation: Lessons from Venezuela paint dire future

10 July 2020

A few years ago, the US Central Intelligence Agency declassified a document from the 1980s that recorded some of the jokes the Soviet Union citizens...

Letter: David Rakgase’s farm victory good news

05 June 2020

Letter: David Rakgase’s farm victory good news...

SA must look at the many horrific results of land expropriation without compensation

15 May 2020

SA must look at the many horrific results of land expropriation without compensation...

Land expropriation without compensation is an illusion that cannot lead to a better life

11 May 2020

Land expropriation without compensation is an illusion that cannot lead to a better life...

Lessons from Venezuela: Implosion started with land grabs

07 May 2020

Lessons from Venezuela: Implosion started with land grabs...

Rule of law / Law

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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...

We should talk about civil disobedience

30 June 2020

Why must we wait until a particular government is ousted before we verbalise our acceptance of civil disobedience in the face of unacceptable law?...

26 June 2020

The rule of law was undermined and the consequences are showing

05 June 2020

The rule of law was undermined and the consequences are showing...

Transformation

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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...

Government stimulus has not worked, let's try something else

19 June 2020

Government stimulus has not worked, let's try something else...

Veiled threats against free speech are an attack on democracy

12 June 2020

Veiled threats against free speech are an attack on democracy...

South Africa’s Coronavirus Repression Signals Worse To Come

08 May 2020

South Africa’s Coronavirus Repression Signals Worse To Come...

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