Free SA Calls for transparent and inclusive engagement on Firearms Amendment Bill
Civil society organisation Free SA has submitted formal comments to the Ministry of Police, urging government to ensure that any amendments to the Firearms Control Act are preceded by transparent and inclusive consultation with all affected stakeholders. The submission follows growing concerns over the lack of formal engagement with groups such as lawful firearm owners, […]
Free SA rejects Polling Ombud proposal: A dangerous assault on transparency and democracy
Free SA is sounding the alarm on a deeply troubling development buried within the Draft Electoral Laws Amendment Bill: the proposed establishment of a Polling Ombud with sweeping powers to censor political information in the run-up to elections. This proposal represents a direct assault on South Africa’s democratic values of transparency, public participation, and freedom […]
Free SA Calls for Sunset Clause on BEE: “Empowerment Must Be Effective, Not Eternal”
Civil rights organisation Free SA is calling for a legislative sunset clause on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), arguing that South Africa’s current empowerment framework is outdated, constitutionally tenuous, and economically harmful. Free SA has launched a national campaign urging Parliament to review and time-limit all BEE-related legislation, ensuring any affirmative action measures are evidence-based, […]
Free SA calls on citizens to speak out in landmark inquiry into police corruption and political interference
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) urges all South Africans to seize the rare and critical opportunity to participate in Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee inquiry into the damning allegations made by Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Lt Gen Mkhwanazi’s testimony on 6 July 2025 laid bare a deeply troubling picture of political […]
Gun Control: ‘Exclude us at your peril’ says Free SA as is it demands full stakeholder engagement in firearms legislation
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) today denounced the South African government’s exclusion of firearms stakeholders from ongoing legislative discussions surrounding the Draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill. In a country already burdened by rampant crime, policy-making behind closed doors will only deepen mistrust and further alienate the very communities whose safety […]
Free SA Opposes Racial Quotas in Employment Equity: Calls for Constitutional Compliance and Skills-Based Reform
Civil rights organisation Free SA has launched a nationwide campaign opposing the newly implemented Employment Equity (EE) targets, which the organisation warns amount to unconstitutional racial quotas. The regulations apply to all companies with more than 50 employees and will enforce race-based targets across skilled, professional, and management levels over the next five years. Free […]
Free SA rejects proposed BELA Regulations: Defends school autonomy and parental voice in education
Free SA strongly opposes the Department of Basic Education’s proposed BELA Regulations, which it says represent a “deeply undemocratic power grab” threatening parental rights and school autonomy. The draft regulations – ostensibly framed to standardise school governance – grant disproportionate powers to provincial Heads of Department (HoDs), enabling them to override school governing bodies (SGBs) […]
Free SA Rejects Government’s National Dialogue as a hollow exercise in control, not consultation
Free SA strongly rejects the so-called “National Dialogue” spearheaded by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration as a performative and exclusionary exercise. Despite its promises of unity, this project is neither national nor a dialogue, and has exposed and probably worsened the gaping divide between the state and its citizens. Instead of empowering South Africans, the National […]
0.3% Growth in jobs is not enough – Government must remove obstacles to prosperity
Free SA has warned that South Africa’s Q2 2025 year-on-year employment growth of just 0.3% should not be celebrated. Given that this does not even match population growth, 0.3% is essentially an economy in reverse, meaning unemployment is effectively worsening in real terms. All is not lost, however. Free SA has pointed to the Western […]
Free SA Launches campaign to oppose Mandatory Insourcing Bill
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) today announced a nationwide mobilisation to halt the Public Service Insourcing Bill (B19-2025). The draft legislation, now before Parliament, would compel every organ of state to absorb a wide range of functions in-house, including security, cleaning, information technology, transport, auditing, and catering, while permitting outsourcing […]
