Friedrich Naumann
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Fast Facts March: A Country in Crisis
Professor Jonathan Jansen, vice chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) and president of the South African Institute of Race Relations, believes democracy, freedom and development are under threat. He traces the growing malaise to seven crises confronting the country and suggests ways in which to bring back hope. Anthea Jeffery summarises what Professor Jansen said at a recent briefing to Institute members in Johannesburg.
Alice Nzomukunda – Presidential Candidate of ADR in Burundi
The Democratic Alliance for Renewal (ADR), a newly formed party, held its party convention on 28th February 2010 where party leader Alice Nzomukunda was nominated as a candidate for the presidential election this June.
ZIMRIGHTS/ZLHR Concered About Rising Threats
HARRASSMENT AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, URGES HOME AFFAIRS MINISTERS AND POLICE COMMISSIONER-GENERAL TO GUARANTEE THEIR SAFETY
Liberty is Indivisible
is not possible to have liberty for some and not for others in the same country. Whilst blacks were being oppressed by apartheid in South Africa, the liberty of whites was being compromised by the measures necessary to suppress the aspirations of their fellow citizens (actually non citizens). In the same way, in yesteryear, the claims by the newly formed United States of America to be a land of liberty were undermined by the continued existence of slavery in the southern states. Slavery in the USA is long gone, as well as the discriminatory Jim Crow laws which came later, but, in my view, the US will not know true liberty until all vestiges of racial legislation have been removed from its statute books.
ZimRights: Increased Harrassment of Human Rights Defenders
Today, 3.3.10 the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) issued the attached worrying Newsflash on the increased harassment, intimidation and threats leveled at a whole range of human rights defenders and civil society organisations and activists recently. The Newsflash follows a joint press conference held today with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) at which it was stressed that civil society organisations will not brook any attempt by rogue elements bent on perpetuating the suffering of Zimbabweans to intimidate them into silence.
JOHN KANE-BERMAN: Wonderful Contradictions May Just Make a Difference this Time
PRUDENCE dictates scepticism about Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s remarks about jobs in his recent budget speech. Not only have we heard some of them before, but he is, after all, the finance minister and not the President or the labour minister.
DA Welcomes Ruling on Pardons - Gains Council Seats
The Constitutional Court finding that victims have to be heard before perpetrators of political violence are pardoned was welcomed by LI full member the Democratic Alliance this past Tuesday.
Helen Suzman Foundation Comments on the 2010/11 Budget
Continuity is important for ongoing policy development and implementation, and does not result in shocks to either society or the markets. Thus the single most important determinant of this year’s Budget was last year’s insofar as the changes are ones of emphasis and not of direction. Obviously this Budget must also be read within the context of the three year expenditure cycle. The Budget comes within a context of what some commentators believe is the tail end of a world recession. Thus the Budget is mindful of global pressures and uncertainties on domestic economies.
Value for Money: Treasury’s Good Work Has Been Undermined
John Kane-Berman, CE of the South African Institute of Race Relations, column on South Africa's Budget Speech 2010.
FNF Scholarship Opportunities to the Billionth African Training Workshop
The Friedrich Naumann Stiftung für die Freiheit (FNF) is proud to announce scholarship opportunities for successful applicants to the 8th IREN Eastern Africa Media Training Workshop to be held on March 17- 20, 2010 in Kampala Uganda.
Focus 56: On Teaching and Learning
Focus is a quarterly journal published by the Helen Suzman Foundation, with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, in South Africa.
SALAN zones in on Good Governance and Democracy in Southern Africa: 7-9 February 2010
Group members of the “Good Governance and Democracy Project” of the Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN), which is supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF), met in Johannesburg to map out a strategy to propel good governance and democracy in the Southern Africa region. Discussions focused on the threats to true democratic consolidation in the region, and elaborated on how regional governing bodies such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) can contribute to holding governments accountable for transgressions and promote transparency and the upholding of the rule of law and the respect for human and civil rights.
LI Vice President Receives DA Spokeswoman and Argentinean Legislators
In the past week Liberal International Vice President Robert W. Browne has met with Lindiwe Mazibuko, spokesperson for LI full member Democratic Alliance (DA), and a delegation of Argentinean opposition legislators, consisting of Paula Bertol, Oscar Aguad and Adrian Perez.
Our Alternative Budget - DA
The Democratic Alliance has released their 'alternative budget' ahead of Mnister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's budget speech to take place this week.
Making Public Service Reform a Reality
THE greatest challenge of governance in SA today is public service reform. The government signals its awareness of this in various ways. President Jacob Zuma delivers assurances that competence will be the criterion for appointments; the medium-term strategic framework promises to link monitoring of public servants’ performance to accountability; the Department of Home Affairs’ turnaround strategy begins to claim results.
Press Statement: New Local Government Report Reveals Challenges - 8th February 2010
One of the largest and most comprehensive statistical breakdowns of local government performance to date was released by the South African Institute of Race Relations this week.
The Freedom Barometer Asia 2009
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s (FNF) Freedom Barometer Asia 2009 is a new instrument to measure freedom in the world from a distinctly liberal point of view. It captures the notion of freedom in a three-pronged way by assessing political, legal and economic rights.
Inequality Increasing Among All Race Groups - DA
Athol Trollip says OECD data stands in marked contrast to that of the presidency OECD Report: South Africa's inequality is increasing within all race groups A report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals that South Africa's aggregate inequality level, as well as inequality within each of its four major racial groups has increased between 2000 and 2008.
A Tip for Pravin: SA Should Adopt a Flat Tax
With less than a month to go to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s inaugural budget speech, many South Africans and potential foreign investors will no doubt be wondering how he plans to balance the national accounts. With the vast majority of South Africans still suffering in the aftermath of the economic recession and interest rates predicted to rise in the second half of 2010, additional disposable income will be a welcome respite. Taxpayers will no doubt be hoping for the same thing – some additional disposable income through paying less tax.
Zimbabwe: GAPWUZ Statement
The General Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ) urgently calls for a stop to the continued farm disturbances, which have resulted in a serious farm labour crisis that is threatening to completely destroy the agriculture sector.
Fast Facts March: A Country in Crisis
