Draft Broadband Policy a Step Forward, But Overregulation Risks Undermining Progress
Free SA has noted the publication of the Draft Policy Direction on Electronic Communications Network Deployment by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, aimed at accelerating broadband rollout across South Africa. While the intention to reduce delays and expand access to affordable, high-speed internet is commendable, the current draft raises serious concerns about the […]
Free SA: Budget 2026 Must Choose Growth Over Redistribution
As South Africa prepares for the 2026 National Budget Speech to be delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, Free SA calls on government to make a decisive shift toward fiscal responsibility, economic growth, and meaningful regulatory reform. With debt levels rising, economic growth stagnating, and unemployment remaining among the highest in the world, this Budget […]
Free SA Launches Campaign to Stop the 2026 BEE Regulations
South Africa Needs Growth, Inclusion, and Competitiveness, Not Failed Policies Repackaged Free SA has launched a national campaign opposing the proposed 2026 amendments to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes, warning that the draft regulations will deepen economic stagnation, deter investment, and further entrench race-based economic engineering at the expense of growth and job […]
QLFS: Marginal Employment Uptick Cannot Mask South Africa’s Deepening Labour Market Crisis
Free SA notes the release of Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q4: 2025. While headline figures reflect a marginal quarter-on-quarter improvement, the broader labour market picture remains bleak, structurally fragile, and deeply concerning. According to the QLFS, employment increased by 44,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing total employment to […]
Centralisation Is Not Reform, Free SA responds to SONA
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (FREE SA) notes with regret and concern that the prevailing theme of the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) is the further centralisation of executive authority, rather than the structural reform and institutional renewal South Africa urgently requires. While the Address emphasised greater presidential and national […]
Free SA: The President’s SONA Must Mark a Turning Point for Economic Reform, Fiscal Discipline and Global Re-engagement
As South Africa awaits the State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Free SA calls on the President to move beyond rhetoric and present a bold, measurable plan to restore economic growth, rein in the unsustainable public wage bill, and rebuild South Africa’s credibility on the global stage. South Africans have heard many […]
Say No to Digital Exclusion and State Control: Free SA Rejects the AI-Powered Intelligent Population Register
Free SA strongly opposes the Department of Home Affairs’ proposed Intelligent Population Register (IPR), a centralised, AI-powered digital identity system that poses a serious threat to civil liberties, privacy, and democratic inclusion in South Africa. The White Paper, which introduces the IPR, outlines a vision where access to essential services and recognition as a citizen […]
Free SA: Decentralise Language Rights – Empower Provinces to Protect South Africa’s Linguistic Diversity
Free SA has expressed serious concern over the content of and the approach taken by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in its proposed amendments to the Use of Official Languages Act, which entrench top-down, centralised control over language policy, at the expense of South Africa’s vibrant and diverse linguistic heritage. While the Bill […]
Free SA Warns: Flawed Hate Speech Regulations Threaten Rights and Privacy, Over 400 South Africans Join Call to Stop Government Overreach
Free SA, the Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality, has raised alarm over the draft regulations issued under the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, 2023, warning that the proposed implementation framework threatens to undermine certain core values embedded in South Africa’s constitutional democracy. In a formal submission to the […]
Free SA Slams Draft Hate Speech Regulations as Threat to Privacy and Freedom of Expression
The Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) has launched a national campaign calling on South Africans to speak out against the draft regulations under the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act, 2023. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is currently accepting public comment on the proposed regulations, […]