STATEMENT BY PATRICIA DE LILLE “GOOD” MOVEMENT FOR GOOD PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN A GOOD SOUTH AFRICA.

Two weeks ago I a made a call to the GOOD people of South Africa to join me in building a movement that will save our country.

I announced a new political movement that would contest the 2019 elections, nationally and in all nine provinces.

I promised to announce a name for the movement, its logo and its objectives in two weeks time.

Today I am proud to honour that promise and to announce the movement is named GOOD.

The movement’s name and identity is here for all of you to see.

It is a simple and authentic name that says quite boldly what we stand for and that we are here to disrupt politics as usual.

It is rallying call to GOOD South Africans to resuscitate the project of optimism and reconciliation.

Good is a movement.

Good upholds the constitution.

Good builds the country.

Good changes politics.

Good fights corruption.

Good stamps out racism.

Good cares about people.

Good nurtures the frail.

Good educates the young.

Good helps the suffering.

Good shelters the needy.

Good has empathy.

Good gives hope.

Good supports good.

I have been deeply encouraged by the response and the support that my message prompted.

As I said, I wanted GOOD South Africans, men and women, young and experienced, of all races, to step forward to lead our country.

I was looking for those who represent the beautiful diversity of our country and who wish to take the lead in restoring hope.

I was not disappointed.

Over the past two weeks we have been managing a growing data-base of South Africans who stepped forward to join our movement for GOOD.

Thousands have come forward and we now have a steady base from which to grow.

Many have also offered financial support for our movement.

We now have activists who are working to grow our base of supporters in all nine provinces.

We also worked with a prominent industry experts to assist us to develop the name, identity and brand of this movement.

That name and identity arose from the hopeful and patriotic vision we hold and from the values we have enshrined in our movement’s constitution and our country’s constitution.

Those values are what will guide this movement as we contest elections and govern.

They include TRUTH, TRUST, EQUITY, SOLIDARITY and SERVICE.

Over the past few weeks we have also been working on developing the policy positions that will give life to these values and the country we hope for and will fight for.

We have based our policy positions on four themes:

SPATIAL JUSTICE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

For the purposes of introducing our movement to you I have summarised some of the themes and the work:

SPATIAL JUSTICE:

Race and space have defined the life and opportunities of South Africans for centuries.

No democratic government in South Africa has tackled the apartheid spatial legacy.

It persists across our country.

Achieving spatial justice is essential to creating a more equitable South Africa.

The apartheid spatial plan continues to keep us divided and has in fact been exacerbated in our towns and cities as they face rapid urbanisation.

Under this theme, for example, we tackle the question of land distribution and land restitution.

We start from the position that public land is for the public good.

Public land is not a commodity to be privatised or traded with. Its first purpose is to serve the public good.

Our constitution provides for expropriation of land. Given the significant public land holdings expropriation should be the last resort.

There is a duty on all land owners, like the state, private sector, churches, banks and traditional leaders to become part of the solution to land distribution.

SOCIAL JUSTICE:

Race and gender still largely determines most South Africans’ prospects.

The vast majority of GOOD South Africans are not racist and wish to see our country prosper.

Sadly racist incidents continue to occur but as the GOOD movement we will not allow racists to speak for us.

South African leaders have shied away from tackling structural and socialised racism within our society.

We will lead the fight against racism and gender inequality.

We cannot allow our future to be structured around racial privilege or racial disadvantage.

Nor can we allow women to live in a patriarchal society of gender violence and femicide.

Under the social justice theme we will also tackle access to quality education.

The future of our country depends on parity of excellent learning opportunities for every child.

Our policies will speak to the socio-economic rights enshrined in our bill of rights.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE:

South Africa’s history of access to capital and wealth is inescapably unequal.

To create a society that redresses capital, assets and wealth inequalities requires a meaningful programme of action.

We support the principle of B-BBEE as a concept geared to address unequal access to assets, wealth and capital.

We are for this - but it must be done right.

And it is done right when we start to see the structure of our country’s economy change so that access to wealth and capital is spread more broadly.

The feminisation of poverty in our country must be addressed.

The growing trend of unequal pay for women in the labour market is an economic injustice.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE:

The world’s climate is changing faster than scientists had predicted.

This generation MUST work to protect the planet and stabilise the climate so that we can protect ourselves and future generations.

Climate change is impacting our economy, impacting food security and raising food prices. We cannot afford not to tackle climate change.

Under each of these themes we are developing detailed policy positions and our 2019 election manifesto. This will be revealed in January 2019 when we launch our campaign and announce our Premier candidates.

There has been a lot of speculation about the renaming of the Independent Democrats. This is a new movement and we have commenced the process of registering the movement with the Independent Electoral Commission.

To fight elections across the country will require substantial financial support and we will be reaching out to all those who wish to build a GOOD South Africa to assist us.

Finally, this movement is about the country I love.

The future of this movement and of our country lies in the hands of a diverse group, of young and experienced people, like some of those who have joined me here today.

There are also many thousands around the country who wish to build a South Africa that is prosperous and equitable.

My role is to use my experience in government to bring GOOD government and GOOD services to all South Africans.

I will continue to mentor and nurture young leaders – who are also the future leaders of our beautiful country.

I again call on all the GOOD people of our country to join us and to restore hope and patriotism for our country and its future.

The GOOD movement will remind South Africans that you don’t need to be black to fight racism, you don’t need to be a woman to fight for gender equality, you don’t need to be gay to fight homophobia.

God Bless South Africa. God seën Suid-Afrika. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.

Sign up at www.forgood.org.za

Issued by Patricia de Lille, 2 December 2018