The Institute for African Alternatives (IFAA) is an independent Pan-African organization committed to the development of alternative social and economic policies in South Africa, the rest of the continent and the world.
About Us
IFAA promotes alternative ideas on social, ecological and economic transformation by engaging thought leaders who see inequalities on the basis of race, gender, class, ethnicity and caste, among others, as impediments to a flourishing society.
IFAA advocates for structural change to reduce poverty and inequality. Diversified, equitable and sustainable economies is what can help us achieve these goals. This in turn calls for progressive agrarian and mining reform with strong social protection policies for the most vulnerable in our societies. IFAA believes that, given Africa’s resource endowments, a good quality of life is possible for all its inhabitants but only if the existing economic, social and political arrangement are contested. Similarly, we question ‘growth oriented economics’ in favour of the care economy, the circular economy, the solidarity economy and the green economy.
For IFAA it is not a choice between the market or the state but how relations between the two are structured to create societies that prioritize well-being for citizens.
Our History
IFAA was founded in London in 1986 by radical political economists Prof. Bade Onimode (Nigeria), Prof. Ben Turok (South Africa), Prof. Abdoulaye Bathily (Senegal), Sheperd Nzombe (Zimbabwe), Prof. Kwame Ninsin (Ghana), Prof. Mahomed Suleiman (Sudan), and Prof. Haroub Othman (Tanzania). IFAA was launched in part to address the decline of African economies caused by both harsh restructuring policies imposed by the Bretton Woods organisations as well as poor governance in many countries. IFAA’s approach to development achieved considerable international prominence. At its height, IFAA had centres in six African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Tanzania, Sudan) as well as an office in London. The institute cooperated with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). IFAA hosted numerous conferences and published several substantial works on Africa’s developmental challenges. Unfortunately, due to funding concerns, the IFAA centres closed in the early 1990s.
Prof. Ben Turok re-established IFAA in South Africa on his return from exile in 1991. This was followed by the launch of New Agenda: South African Journal of Social and Economic Policy in the early 2000s. IFAA offices moved to central Cape Town in 2014 when Prof. Turok retired from parliament that year. The Institute is now based at Community House in Salt River, Cape Town.
Our Staff
IFAA Board
Hon. Kgalema Motlanthe
Mr Tony Ehrenreich
Mr Pallo Jordan
Prof. Evance Kalula
Prof. Steven Robbins
Professor of Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, University of Stellenbosch
Prof. Ari Sitas
Ms. Buyelwa Sonjica
Prof. Vivienne Taylor
