#Elections19: What GOOD stands for

GOOD party, a newcomer in the political ring contesting with not-so-new political members, has raised many eyebrows in the Western Cape for many reasons. Regardless, they are determined to participate in the political fight on 8 May in hopes that South Africans will help them deliver blows against their more experienced opponents.

The party was launched towards the end of 2018 on 2 December under the brave leadership of Patricia de Lille, affectionately referred to as Aunty Pat, in order to “make South Africa Good again”.

The former Independent Democrats leader, former Democratic Alliance member and former Cape Town Mayor’s party is running under the mandate of #FIXSA for the 2019 elections, as they believe that “now is a good time to fix South Africa”.

Three main focuses that they believe are essential in creating “good” living conditions for the people of South Africa:
1. Unemployment
2. Inequality
3. Education system

However, it is crucial that we look at what they plan to do if they were to be granted the powers to elevate the lives of South Africans. A critical look at the feasibility of their manifesto, especially because they are a new contender and despite having experienced members in the party.

The manifesto is constructed under four crucial principals that look at:

Spatial justice which dives into the socio-economic issues that the country faces. Especially in a province such as Western Cape.

Economic justice by ensuring the government invests in new businesses and the creation of new business which will help with the unemployment rate in South Africa.

Social justice which looks into equitable treatment of all South Africans.

Environmental justice looking closely at tackling issues pertaining to climate change ad food security which also affect the economy.

#GOOD Leader Patricia De Lille vows to draw on her 40-year track record opposing injustice to continue being a thorn in the side of crooks. View the video here… pic.twitter.com/UAu95t8iIg

— Good (@ForGoodZA) April 30, 2019

When looking into their 2019 manifesto 7 key issues stick out for us:

Land access: the most controversial issue to date in South Africa. GOOD believes that public land must be used the good of the public, meaning there needs to be an implementation of land audits.

Unemployment: the talk of the town since 1994. GOOD states that there needs to be investment that creates jobs in South Africa which means there needs to be a focus on industrial growth.

Safety and crime: since this is a huge issue in the Western Cape they want to ensure professional policing (how they plan to achieve this practically is not clear enough in their manifesto).

Education: when it comes to the most pressing issue for young South African’s today, education is something that needs to be addressed. GOOD believes that because it is the key to prosperity, there should be the implementation of e-learning. The issue here that is clearly not addressed is the technicalities that comes with such implementation, in terms of funds and administration.

Health care: due to the high child mortality rate, this needs to be addressed. In light of the AIDS epidemic South Africa faces, GOOD wants to ensure that there are no barriers to basic health care. However, maybe the problem is not merely an issue of lack of resources, but rather an issue of a lack of skilled service providers?

Water security: since this political party is focused on the activities of the Western Cape, it is understandable that the water crisis would be addressed to explore ways of ensuring a repeat event never takes place. GOOD wants there to be equitable sharing and sustainable catchment management. The question now is how?

One cannot ignore the fact that their presence in the political ring will lead to interesting results. They have created a political system that has all political parties, specifically those in the Western Cape, re-thinking their strategy.

A seat in parliament is the goal for many new political parties, however we think Aunty Pat has higher expectations. We cannot keep our eyes off of this political party because, whatever the outcome, it will definitely be surprising.