GOOD Statement by Councillor Suzette Little, and Greg Barnardo
17 October 2023
In 2018, the fight for integration and transformative justice in Cape Town reached a new height when a group of then councilors, including ourselves, decided to stand up against the DA’s history of prioritising service for privileged communities.
As part of their dirty fight, the party, through its leader Mmusi Maimane at the time, targeted the most sacred quality of a political representative – our integrity.
We were falsely accused of everything from corruption to maladministration in the City of Cape Town, as the party attempted to protect its failing image of one with a non-racial and transformative agenda.
While it has taken years, and we have already suffered the damage of the false allegations against our reputation, there has been some justice.
We therefore welcome the order delivered in the Western Cape High Court on Friday against Maimane, who has been ordered to pay a total of over R475,000 in damages for defamation to us and some of our former colleagues.
We have dedicated ourselves to the fight for our people and the upliftment of our communities, and these attacks on our character based on false facts were hurtful and harmful to the goal we were fighting for.
But while much time has passed, and the political landscape has shifted, this goal has still not been reached. We will not be deterred from our work for spatial justice by integrating residents and developing affordable housing in the inner-city and surrounding areas.
There are good, committed, patriotic South Africans in all parties and communities. We need to work together to ensure that change in the City is possible.
Media Enquiries:
Suzette Little, GOOD City of Cape Town Councillor
Cell: 073 321 5036
Email: suzettel@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 073 367 1223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za