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The FW de Klerk Foundation Annual Conference

The Constitution and Governance - At Another Crossroad

The annual conference series aims to highlight and discuss topical issues that are pertinent to South Africa's young constitutional democracy. High profile speakers share their insights regarding the country's political and economic future.

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In memory of the parliamentary address delivered by FW de Klerk on 2 February 1990, heralding the end of the apartheid regime and the start of the democratic transition, the KAS office in South Africa and the FW de Klerk Foundation organised an annual conference in February 2017. The series of conferences is focusing on current constitutional law issues that are of significance for the advancement and sustainability of democracy in South Africa. In his address, FW de Klerk voiced his concern about the way in which the government led by the ANC is attempting to overcome the ever-present social inequality between races. Particularly the race-related quota system was a problem, he said, since it neglected the reality reflected in society. He was supported in this point by Moeletsi Mbeki, the brother of the former president Thabo Mbeki, who sees the current policy of the government as a tremendous blow to black entrepreneurship, since it creates a small group of unproductive, but very rich "buddy capitalists" made up almost entirely of ANC politicians. De Klerk and Mbeki called on the government to support blacks through better education and business startup loans, instead of implementing ever stricter race quotas that have held South Africa's economy in tight shackles for years.

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Christina Teichmann

Expert conference
February 2, 2016
Civic Centre, Cape Town
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