iol

As South Africa awaits the national budget, concerns are growing that a widening “student funding gap” is preventing thousands of qualified young people from accessing higher education, with potential long-term consequences for economic growth and social stability.

As Finance Minister prepares to table the 2026 national budget, some organisations have urged government to review the income thresholds that determine South Africa’s “missing-middle” students.

The residential development at the Golden Acre Precinct in the CBD is scheduled for completion on December 1, when tenants are expected to begin moving in.

Free SA has responded to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2025, warning that the latest employment figures offer little relief to a labour market that remains structurally fragile and deeply concerning.

When President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the 2026 State of the Nation Address, he moved beyond general acknowledgement of the housing crisis and outlined a series of more concrete interventions. These included accelerating the release of well-located public land, expanding social and affordable housing, unblocking stalled housing projects, reforming infrastructure financing, and strengthening coordination through the human settlements framework. These commitments signal an awareness that housing lies at the heart of South Africa’s inequality crisis. The question now is whether they will shift the structural conditions that continue to reproduce spatial exclusion.

AS South Africa awaits the State of the Nation Address (Sona) by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Foundation for Rights of Expression and Equality (Free SA) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa 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.

Cape Town executive mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Tuesday led a guided walkthrough of the Golden Acre Precinct in the CBD, marking a key milestone in the redevelopment of the city’s central commuter and retail hub, a project aimed at revitalising the inner city through improved safety, affordable housing and upgraded public spaces.

In a media statement, 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.

Construction of the new residential tower in the Golden Acre Precinct has begun.

The redevelopment of the Golden Acre Precinct, which sits at the centre of Cape Town’s largest public transport interchange, has formally begun in recent weeks, marking a major step toward revitalising the heart of the city with the commercial office tower being converted to residential apartments housing, upgraded retail, and a safer, better-connected pedestrian environment.

Civil society organisation Free SA has submitted a formal submission in response to the Department of Basic Education opposing key aspects of the newly proposed BELA Regulations on school admissions and capacity.