The Patent Rights Grab
29 October 2014 - The State is seeking wide powers to take or bypass patent rights. Patents are important because they help to quicken the growth rate, generate jobs, and counter poverty.
The road less travelled – swift action needed to prevent SA’s slide towards ‘rocky road’ economy
14 August 2015 – Dr Frans Cronje, Scenario Planner and CEO of SA Institute of Race Relations (IRR), recently spoke at the second annual Sanlam Investments and Glacier by Sanlam i3 Summit in Johannesburg. He spoke of the high and low road scenarios for South Africa and what South Africa urgently needs to address to change our economic outlook. Please find the press release published by Sanlam Investments here.
The status of women in South Africa: A mixed bag of success and failure
08 August 2017 - Today, the South African Institute of Race Relations released its August Fast Facts Wathint’ Abafazi, wathint’ Imbokodo. The data reveals a mixed bag of success and failure.
There's a hole in the job bucket
23 December 2015 – "The report found that young black people bear most of the brunt of unemployment and that only policy reform could break South Africa’s unemployment challenge."
Time to consider new models of affirmative action
26 November 2014 – There is a need for a non-racial form of affirmative action in employment instead of the present race-based system.
Time to wake up to affirmative action dangers
Official data on wastewater management at municipal level show that very large numbers of people are potentially at risk, says the IRR (Institute of Race Relations).
Trade unions lose control of the workshop floor
9 February 2015 – Fewer than one in five South Africans who are economically active are choosing to join trade unions. Registered union membership declined by 26% between 1994 and 2014. This is according to the latest South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) in Johannesburg.
Traffic in the sky
3 February 2015 – The highest number of international aircraft movements in the past 10 years was recorded in 2014, according to the latest South Africa Survey, released this week by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR). Between 2002/03 and 2013/14 international aircraft movements increased by 57% from 47 294 to 74 088. The traffic in the sky is on the increase.
URGENT NOTICE: Professor Jonathan Jansen book launch cancellation
23 February 2016 – It is with the greatest regret that events on the campus of the University of the Free State last night have forced Professor Jonathan Jansen to postpone his book launch this coming Friday evening, 26 February 2016. The Professor needs to devote his full attention to his campus at this time.
Van Onselen joins the IRR
17 January 2018 - Acclaimed political commentator and columnist, Gareth van Onselen, will be joining the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR) as its new Head of Politics and Governance from January 22.
Violent protests have increased substantially in SA
24 July 2015 – There has been a 96% increase in social protest action since 2010...The SAPS is facing a barrage of violent protest action resulting from the broken social fabric of our society.
Water wastage and contamination from an ‘induced’ deficit of engineering skills
11 November 2015 – Average water consumption in South Africa, at 235 litres per person per day (l/p/d), is a staggering 26% higher than the global average of 173 l/p/d, writes water expert Dr Anthony Turton in an analysis recently published in @Liberty, the policy bulletin of the IRR (Institute of Race Relations).
What a truly ‘radical’ SONA would sound like
16 February 2018 – The IRR argues that Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration should recognise the importance of property rights to a healthy, prosperous society.
What South Africa needs to do to beat unemployment
14 March 2018 - Data in the 2018 edition of the South Africa Survey, published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR), underlines the urgent need for investment, economic growth and policy reforms, especially in education, if the country is to reduce its high unemployment figures.
What will South Africa lose if all immigrants are sent home?
13 March 2017 – Most refugees and immigrants who come to South Africa seeking a better life, manage to do so. This report investigates how they achieve the seemingly impossible and what South Africans can learn from this.
Whether Jacob Zuma stays or goes, the empowerment challenge will remain
4 April 2017 – Whether President Jacob Zuma stays or goes in response to the public outcry over his firing of finance minister Pravin Gordhan is important for many issues, including the terms of any nuclear deal with Russia. However, it will have no impact on South Africa’s most pressing policy challenge of all – how to empower the disadvantaged, says the IRR in a new report published today.
White South Africans have the highest quality of life
8 May 2017 – White South Africans have considerably higher quality of life than Coloured, Indian/Asian and Black South Africans, according to a Fast Facts report released today by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR). The report also shows that Gauteng and the Western Cape have a significantly higher quality of life than rural provinces.
Will ‘Ramaphosa effect’ save SA from taxing itself into prosperity?
2 February 2018 - Will ‘Ramaphosa effect’ save SA from taxing itself into prosperity?, the January edition of Fast Facts from the Centre for Risk Analysis at the IRR, provides a comprehensive picture of taxpayers and tax revenues collected.
Winning the war on crime
6 September 2016 - The IRR has released a report titled “Winning the War on Crime in South Africa: A new Approach Community Policing”. The report sought to explore the crime-prevention options open to a society in which the police had proved unable to offer adequate safety and security.
Worrying dropout rates at school and university level - IRR report
13 March 2015 – Only half of children who enrol in grade 1 will ever have the experience of sitting in a matric class. Of those fortunate enough to make it to matric, only half will write mathematics as a subject. Also, only one in four matric pupils will pass maths with 50% or higher.
