FW de Klerk Foundation

Recently, Elita de Klerk, Chairperson of the FW de Klerk Foundation, and her Deputy, Christina Teichmann, attended a working dinner with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS South Africa - Country Office) on the occasion of the South Africa visit of Dr Gerhard Wahlers, Deputy Secretary General of KAS and Head of the Division for European and International Cooperation. Discussions centred on the current socio-economic and political landscape of the country, particularly the outcome of the 2024 National Elections, which ended 30 years of one-party dominance and resulted in the creation of a Government of National Unity (“GNU”). Ms De Klerk thanked the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung for its unwavering support over the years and highlighted the continuing need to protect the Constitution and strengthen democracy as the world becomes ever more divided and polarized. Gregor Jaecke, the KAS Country Representative for South Africa, echoed the sentiment, noting that political will and political leadership based on democratic values are more needed now than ever to tackle the current challenges in South Africa and the world at large. While political leaders, such as FW de Klerk and Nelson Mandela (in South Africa), as well as Konrad Adenauer (in Germany), have earned their place in history, their legacy needs to be kept alive so that it can serve as inspiration for the younger generations. Visit bit.ly/4obXCnT to learn more about the work of the FW de Klerk Foundation and bit.ly/49zTkmI to learn more about the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

According to the Department of Basic Education’s 2024/25 Annual Report, seven provincial education departments collectively failed to spend nearly R150 million in conditional grants meant for school feeding schemes, early childhood development and essential infrastructure. This under-expenditure occurred despite widespread child hunger, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated facilities – a situation that runs contrary to section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees everyone the right to basic education and section 28(1)(c), which ensures every child’s right to basic nutrition, shelter and social services. Under section 7(2), the state is obliged to “respect, protect, promote and fulfil” these rights, but this duty cannot be met when appropriated funds lie idle. “Returning millions meant to feed and educate children is indefensible,” said Ismail Joosub, Manager of the Constitutional Advancement Programme at the FW de Klerk Foundation. “The National School Nutrition Programme and infrastructure grants are lifelines – not optional extras. This failure represents a breakdown in constitutional accountability and a betrayal of the poorest learners.” The FW de Klerk Foundation calls for urgent corrective measures to ensure that every rand allocated to education reaches the classroom, the child and the Constitution it was meant to serve. Visit bit.ly/4nHlOyl to learn more.

On 11 November, the Fourth FW de Klerk Memorial Lecture was delivered by Mr Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute. On this occasion, Daniela Ellerbeck, Manager of the Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme, interviewed Mr Granoff for the Constitution@Work Podcast. In the interview, they discuss Mr De Klerk, his role in the global nuclear non-proliferation movement, the destructive capacity of nuclear weapons and much more. Watch the podcast: bit.ly/49tfmHJ

The FW de Klerk Foundation recently submitted formal comments on the Draft National Corruption Risk and Prevention Framework - highlighting the unconstitutionality of South Africa’s current corruption framework. “Despite a Constitutional Court ruling fourteen years ago that the State must establish a sufficiently independent anti-corruption body, no such body exists,” states Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the Manager of the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programme. “The Justice Department recently told Parliament it has not yet even started drafting a law to create this body. The Foundation believes this delay is unreasonable and infringes multiple constitutional rights.” In addition to this, Ellerbeck emphasised that the current anti-corruption bodies do not meet the Constitutional Court’s standard of independence, because they are not outside of the executive’s control. “This is not just a policy failure, it is unconstitutional,” states Ellerbeck. The Foundation’s submission calls on Parliament to urgently create the anti-corruption body mandated by the Court. Visit bit.ly/4oaCNJE to learn more.

The Fourth FW de Klerk Memorial Lecture was delivered on 11 November 2025 by Mr Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute, at The Capital, 15 on Orange Hotel in Cape Town. In his lecture, Mr Granoff began by reflecting on his many meetings with Mr De Klerk at World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates and his lasting influence. He then recognised some of Mr De Klerk’s greatest achievements, for which we are still benefiting, such as initiating South Africa’s constitutional transformation, abolishing South Africa’s nuclear arsenal (in the early 1990’s) and making South Africa a leading member of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Mr Granoff concluded his address by offering some suggestions as to how we can fulfil our intergenerational responsibilities and how change at one moment can seem impossible, until, by working together, it isn’t. We would like to thank the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS South Africa) for collaborating with us to host this lecture, as well as all the attendees who joined us at the event and those who watched the livestream online. Thank you for helping us pay tribute to the life and legacy of a distinguished leader and remarkable man. Visit bit.ly/4nTWBAR to watch the lecture recording.

In a statement first published on News24, Ismail Joosub, Manager of the Constitutional Advancement Programme, discusses the Draft Business Licensing Bill of 2025 and questions whether the Bill simply modernises South Africa’s outdated business licensing regime or embeds transformation objectives so deeply into regulatory framework that it becomes, in effect, BEE in disguise? Joosub further questions whether South Africa can afford such a licensing regime, in which access to economic participation depends on administrative discretion, in a system already strained by capacity, inconsistency and inequality. Visit bit.ly/3X2hMpm to learn more.