GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & City of Cape Town Mayoral Candidate
20 July 2026
The highest bidder on auction for the Good Hope City in February has directly contradicted Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis’ contention in a radio interview last week that it could not come up with the money.
The Mayor announced during the interview that the highest bidder’s inability to meet requirements opened the door to the second highest bidder, which happened to be an Islamic institution.
But a letter addressed by Pastor John Anosike under a St John’s Holdings PTY Ltd letterhead to the City, following the Mayor’s interview, states: “To the best of our knowledge we have not failed to meet the requirements,” and requests clarity if the Mayor’s remarks accurately represented the City’s official position.
The letter adds that neither the holding company nor New World Faith Ministries had received official communication from the City and had been awaiting formal feedback “to enable us to finalise the purchase”.
While Pastor John’s letter raises concerns about fairness, and the “significant financial, legal and administrative commitments” incurred by his organisation in pursuit of the acquisition, his letter also raises broader issues about the integrity of the City’s supply chain management processes.
Under the City’s own Supply Chain Management Policy, the decision to award or reject a bid is made by a Bid Adjudication Committee and the City Manager – not by the Mayor. The law bars a councillor or a Mayor from sitting on or observing a bid committee. The Mayor has an oversight role; he has no business making announcements about who bids how much for what…
The City’s own rules further commit the City to notifying both successful and unsuccessful bidders, in writing, once a final decision on the sale is reached – by email or hand delivery. There is no provision for the Mayor to make procurement announcements during radio interviews or media conferences.
It fits a pattern the DA-led City where politicians feel they have the right to run ahead of, if not meddle, in procurement… It is a pattern that undermines the integrity of procurement processes, that the DA has learned well from the ANC.
The GOOD Party is opposed to the sale of the Good Hope Centre, regardless of who the buyer is. It is public land that should not be sold to a church, a mosque or anyone else, but developed for the public good of all citizens.
Flogging public properties without first considering the context of the City’s critical housing shortage, and increasing unaffordability, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in its Tafelberg School judgement a few weeks ago.
Irrespective of whether the Good Hope Centre site is eventually run by a religious institution, or becomes a site of affordable housing, or both, however, the principle remains that the Mayor doesn’t have the right or the power to run procurement through media events. The procurement process exists in order to be seen to be fair to bidders and the public.
In view of the above, the GOOD Party will lodge a formal objection with the City Manager, and a complaint with the Public Protector.
Media Enquiries: media@forgood.org.za