Media release: Announcement of a new Board at the Free Market Foundation

5 August 2020
Media release

Announcement of a new Board at the Free Market Foundation

Following the Annual General Meeting at the Free Market Foundation (FMF) on 29 July 2020, the 45-year old think tank and policy institute is pleased to announce its new Board of Directors.

The Board has a diverse pool of talent representing the interests of South African society. The Board may add extra members.

Leon Louw, FMF CEO, said,

“We welcome new Board members to the cause of economic and individual freedom for all South Africans.

We are facing the greatest crisis since the dark days of apartheid. All who value freedom and economic liberty must focus their efforts on the need for real pro-market reform, which alone can deliver growth, jobs and prosperity.

The world’s experience shows that all countries that increase economic freedom, enjoy rising standards of living, health, education and general wellbeing. All countries that move in the opposite direction, as South Africa did in the past decade, stagnate or contract by every objective measure.”

FMF Board Members from 29 July 2020: short biographies at the end.

•     Rumbidzai Kangara
•     Johanna McDowell
•     Lawrence Mavundla
•     Gerhard Papenfus
•     Phumlani Majozi
•     Erik Peers
•     Leon Louw

Additional members to be announced.

Rumbidzai Kangara
Rumbidzai Kangara is the secretary of the African Cooperative for Hawkers and Informal Business (ACHIB) an organisation that defends the rights of hawkers and informal business.

Johanna McDowell
Johanna McDowell is a marketing professional with more than 40 years' experience in advertising, public relations and marketing communications in South Africa and the UK. She has been a company director for more than 30 years and has sat on boards in both countries over those years including more than 10 years on the board of the Institute of Directors.

Lawrence Mavundla
Lawrence Mavundla president of the African Council of Hawkers and Informal Businesses (ACHIB) and past President of the Nafcoc. Lawrence played a critical role in the formation of the National Union of Mineworkers and was the founding General Secretary of the National Union of Farm Workers. He is the author of Freedom to be Enterprising and a contributor to Let the Consumer Decide. Lawrence was awarded the Free Market Award by the FMF in 1988.

Gerhard Papenfus
Gerhard Papenfus is the Chief Executive of NEASA (National Employers’ Association of South Africa), an organisation that provides businesses, in all sectors, with all labour law and industrial relations services, among others, top quality legal representation in labour disputes. NEASA is also South Africa’s most prominent sectoral collective bargaining role player. Papenfus founded NEASA in 1996. He is a regular on TV and radio, as well as mainstream newspapers and related media.

Phumlani Majozi
Phumlani is a business and macroeconomics analyst, writer and commentator on economic and political issues. His writings have been published in the City Press, BizNews, African Liberty and Politicsweb. He’s also a contributor on News24, South Africa’s leading news website. He sits on the board of two organizations: South African Institute of Business Accountants (SAIBA) and Organization Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). He’s also a member of the Council of the South African Institute of Race Relations.

Erik Peers
Erik Peers is a graduate in Economics from UCT. Advocating free market economics  and the virtues of liberty and freedom for all has been a lifelong passion. After a career in marketing, commerce and technology in the IT industry, Erik now focuses on the property industry. He understands the critical importance of creating the environment for entrepreneurship to flourish in South Africa and has daily first-hand experience of the benefits of private property ownership.

Leon Louw
Leon Louw has been active in diverse aspects of South African public life for over a generation. He is credited with having had a significant impact on the course of events in South Africa, especially regarding the extensive economic reforms that took place during the last two decades of apartheid, and the inclusion of the property rights clause in the constitution. With his wife, Frances Kendall, he was nominated thrice for the Nobel Peace Prize for proposals made in their book South Africa: The Solution. Leon is the CEO of the Free Market Foundation.

Ends