Because South Africa is a sports-mad nation, the antics of our national teams play a major role in galvanising and/or dividing the nation. By “antics” we refer to the full spectrum of team composition, their performance and the politics that surround them. A year ago, a floundering Cricket South Africa appointed esteemed Senior Council Advocate, and former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Dumisa Ntesbeza, as the sport’s transformation ombudsman.

One of South Africa’s youngest political parties submitted 961 ward councillor candidates and 761 proportional representation councillor candidates to the IEC, meeting today’s deadline for the submission of candidates for the local government elections. GOOD has continued to work towards the local government elections as if they will go ahead on 27 October 2021. We are ready for these elections and if they are postponed by a month or three we will be even more ready.

Cape Town’s increased frequency of land occupations, new informal settlements and rising homelessness are the clear consequences of the decisions taken by the DA to collapse the delivery of housing. The City’s annual revisions to its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) have consistently revised the targets downwards – and under-delivered even on their reduced annual delivery targets.

Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary General, member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament and GOOD Mayoral candidate for the City of Cape Town 22 August 2021 BUILDING COMMON PURPOSE…

The GOOD Party now stands ready to increase its presence across five provinces. We are ready to submit our candidate list, and we have drafted our manifesto. It’s all systems go for municipal elections on October 27. If the election is postponed by a month or three, we'll be even more ready!

Government budgets do more than present dry financial information. In the process of disclosing a State or Department's tangible spending priorities critical intangible indicators of morality and integrity are revealed. Hidden in the fine print of the City of Cape Town's Adjustment Budget, to be tabled on Thursday, is a proposal to spend R7.57m on the Mayoral Art Collection. "I have written to the City Manager, the City of Cape Town's Accounting Officer, to ask for an explanation," said GOOD Secretary-General Brett Herron.

Among the most nauseating symbols of South Africa's political decay is when people in leadership positions are forced, or feel the necessity, to brazenly lie and defend the indefensible – and the unlawful. The high point of this dark art in recent times was then-police minister Nathi Nhleko treating media to a demonstration of the famed Nkandla swimming pool in 2015 – insisting it was, in fact, not for swimming but for fighting fires.

The GOOD Party has written to Deputy Speaker of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature, Beverley Schafer (DA), for an explanation about her apparent association to a threatening group of anti-poor misogynists.   On Friday, Schafer announced she will be a presiding officer at the Western Cape's one-day Women's Parliament being held under the theme: Placing the Dignity and Innate Rights of Women in the Spotlight.   Schafer is a prominent member of S-Connect Women, a subgroup of the S-Group founded by billionaire Robert Hersov.

Newly appointed Mayor of Johannesburg, Jolidee Matongo, enters office with the full weight of his predecessors’ underwhelming performance on his shoulders. With local government elections around the corner, Matongo has a gilt-edged opportunity to demonstrate decisive leadership. But if he doesn’t, he risks the ignominy of being the shortest-lived mayor in Johannesburg’s history. The GOOD Party welcomes the filling of the city’s highest office. Matongo's previous role as Johannesburg’s MMC for Finance will have equipped him well to ensure the City spends its budget wisely and without corruption.

“When you empower a woman‚ you empower a community” says GOOD’s leader, Patricia de Lille. GOOD is the only woman-led political party in the South African National Parliament. “The theme for 2021 Women’s Month is ‘Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights for an Equal Future’ and inspires societies to work to achieve gender equality by 2030” says Mark Rountree, the National Policy Officer for GOOD. “GOOD works for a united, equitable and just society. We committed in 2019 to support workers and small businesses across South Africa to enable growth and this Women’s Day, we are partnering with several other organisations to deliver on that promise for Women’s Month” says Rountree.