• Futurology
  The Institute argues that identifying problems before they happen requires both imagination and the courage to swim against the tide. 1
• Race Relations
  The Eskom debacle is just one example of the chaos caused by racial engineering and empowerment. The Institute argues that in many cases, such empowerment actually serves to disempower those it seeks to uplift. 2-5
• Education
  The mathematics results for the 2008 matric class show a depressing scenario when broken down by race. It seems that the education system is failing to produce enough African skills to satisfy affirmative action requirements. 6-7
• Fast Stats 8–12

• Local government
  The Institute argues that the ‘deployment’ system that the ANC employs is undermining local government. 1
• Politics
  The young politicians affiliated with the ANC still seem to think that incitement to murder is a valid political tool. The ANC itself has yet to teach them otherwise. 2
• Race relations
  This risk analysis assesses the progress so far in improving race relations but suggests that failure to fix the failing state will damage race relations. 3– 4
• Public finance
  The Institute provides statistics that demonstrate how the recession has affected the fiscus. 5–6
• The Economy
  The Institute provides figures that demonstrate how the recession has affected GDP per head. 7
• International comparisons
  This section contains a comprehensive comparative statistical breakdown of South Africa’s performance against a selection of countries on a range of indicators. 8–19
• Fast Stats 20–24

• Politics
  Although popular opinion casts Mr Jacob Zuma and his Cabinet as Leftists, the Institute argues that the thrust of economic policy does not bear this out. Rather, the influence of Cosatu and the SACP is balanced by the prudent macro-economic policies that have been championed by Mr Trevor Manuel and many senior ANC leaders. 1
• Employment
  While South Africa’s alarming unemployment rate is often seen as a ‘ticking time-bomb’, the proposed eradication of labour broking by Cosatu, the SACP, and some in the ANC, seems set to exacerbate the problem. Now is the time for Mr Jacob Zuma to stand firm against some of the potentially disastrous policies advocated by his allies. 2-3
• Survey
  The Institute presents our annual South Africa in Brief statistical breakdown, based on the forthcoming South Africa Survey 2008/09. 4-19
• Fast Stats 20–24

• Local government

The repeated protests aimed at local government show that municipalities are not living up to their responsibilities to the electorate. John Kane-Berman argues that these protests, among other things, indicate that local government in its current form is unable to perform its intended function. 1

• South African Mirror

The Institute presents copies of the slides presented at the annual South African Mirror briefing. This presentation aims to cover the main trends in South Africa, and provide a factual state of the nation. After the slides, John Kane-Berman’s concluding remarks are presented. 2-7

• Fast Stats 8–12

• Healthcare

Healthcare tourism has great potential for growth in South Africa, but the ANC’s national health insurance plan puts this avenue of growth in jeopardy. It seems likely that the national health insurance system will cause a flight of skills from the private healthcare sector, and healthcare tourists will no longer have any reason to visit this country. 1

• Policy

The Government has recently admitted to making many “mistakes” in the field of policy, and in several areas it is now rectifying these. The danger remains, however, that in correcting the policy interventions of the past, the Government may make further such “mistakes”. 2

• Local government

While many suggest that failures in “delivery” are at the root of recent protest actions in areas such as Balfour, Thokoza, Delft, and Diepsloot, the Institute argues that this is not an explanation that takes full account of the facts. 3

• Fast Stats 4–8

• Demographics
  The number of orphans in South Africa is reaching crisis proportions. John Kane-Berman asks what can be done, and ponders the consequences of the ever rising numbers. 1
• Demographics
  The question of the state of family life in South Africa is difficult to answer. Gail Eddy provides a starting point for investigating families by outlining some of the key trends.
  2-3
• Demographics
  The Institute provides a comprehensive statistical review of the South African family. 4-12
• The economy
  Frans Cronje argues that if South Africa wishes to become a middleincome society by 2030, our economic growth target should be closer to 8%. 13-14
• The economy
  The Institute provides forecasts for economic growth based on growth rates of 3%, 6%, and 8%. 15
• Fast Stats 16–20

• Politics
  John Kane-Berman comes to Helen Zille’s defence. 1
• The Institute
  A list of the different subscriber options for the Institute is presented. 2
• Government
  The Institute argues that despite changes in the structure of the Cabinet, the Zuma administration is  likely to be as interventionist as under Thabo Mbeki’s leadership. 3
• Government
  The Institute warns about the danger of unintended consequences. 4
• Government
  The Institute presents a formula for careful monitoring of legislation. 5
• Provincial Profiles
  An analysis of the provinces reveals large differences between them.6–7
• Provincial Profiles
  The Institute presents our annual statistical review of South Africa’s provinces. 8–27
• Fast Stats 28–32

• Politics
  Dr Anthea Jeffery argues that there is strong evidence to show that the ANC will continue its push to control the Judiciary during Jacob Zuma’s presidency.
  She shows that such control could be dangerous to liberty and the rule of law. 1

• Politics
  The justice system in South Africa has been under consistent pressure since the ANC’s Polokwane conference in December 2007. Dr Anthea Jeffery traces these developments, and shows how the sustained attacks on the Judiciary have already started to produce poor judgments. 2–4

• Elections 2009
  The Institute provides an overview of election results, and traces various parties’ fortunes from the 1994 elections until 2009. Both national and provincial
  breakdowns are provided. 5–7

• Fast Stats 8–12

• Tax

John Kane-Berman argues that while a great deal of tax money is well spent, too much is still squandered due to incompetence or corruption. 1

• Crime

The Institute outlines some of the problems that face South Africa and the Government in the fight against crime. 2–3

• Crime

The Institute provides some possible avenues to be explored that could aid in the fight against crime, and suggests that the role of the family should be strengthened. 4–5

• Tax

These statistical pages provide a comprehensive breakdown of the structure of the taxation system in South Africa. 6–15

• Fast Stats 16–20

• Politics

Despite complaints from the media about too many similarities between different political parties’ manifestos, it seems that there are enough fresh ideas to truly differentiate between parties. 1

• Politics

The Institute provides a comparativeoverview of four election manifestos. The primary policies proposed by the ANC, the DA, Cope, and the IFP are compared and contrasted. While there are many similarities between the proposals, the tone of each manifesto is distinctly different, and each party brings enough new things to the table to compete on policy. 2–5

• Budget 2009

The Institute presents our annual review of the national budget. 6–11

• Fast Stats 12–16

• Helen Suzman
  John Kane-Berman pays tribute to Helen Suzman, and remembers some of her achievements both as an MP and as a long-serving member of the Institute. 1
• Local government
  The Institute provides an overview of some of the key challenges facing local government. Through a thorough investigation of municipal government, the Institute shows that municipalities face complex issues that are often specific to individual areas. 2–3
• Local government
  The Institute presents an in depth statistical overview of municipalities covering key areas of demographics, living conditions, the economy, health, and welfare. 4–31
• Fast Stats 32–36

• Politics

Despite bitter rivalry between former political allies from the ANC and Cope, the leaders presented in this issue of Fast Facts uniformly exonerate Mr Thabo Mbeki for many of
the positions he took while president of the country. 1

• Politics

The Institute presents brief biographies of six of the most prominent political leaders from the ANC and Cope political parties. Direct quotes are used from these leaders to outline
their positions on various key areas of policy. 2–11

• Fast Stats 12–16