Waarheid News

03/08/2021

With South Africa in the midst of a great battle against the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, important parts of the economy locked down, hospitals filling up and jobs scarcer than hen's teeth, the country's now swiftly-moving vaccination programme provides a strong ray of hope.

Rich countries such as the US and UK, which had the money to stand at the front of the queue to buy vaccinations for their people, are already showing signs of economic recovery.

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The country's now swiftly-moving vaccination programme provides a strong ray of hope after a year and a half of economic devastation.

02/08/2021

President Ramaphosa’s call on South Africans to “stay safe and stay home” wasn’t heard in Johannesburg where the sheriff’s office has its hands full evicting tenants who have fallen behind with their rent and chucking them and their belongings on the streets.

In June it was the turn of 70-year-old Bellavista pensioner, Hennie Swarts, who has stayed with his family at the same address for 28 years.

When Swarts’ daughter approached the police, baby son in arms, to ask why the family was being evicted she was pepper-sprayed in the face, Swarts said.

“After so many years staying in the house, it took just a few minutes for 20 men in overalls to clear out all our family’s belonging and dump them on the sidewalk,” Swarts said.

The workers were accompanied by a strong detachment of police. Swarts said the family received no prior warning or notification.

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President Ramaphosa’s call on South Africans to “stay safe and stay home” wasn’t heard in Johannesburg where residents were evicted.

01/08/2021

A few days ago I went to KTC, in Nyanga, to check up on the City of Cape Town's promise to reinstate portaloo sanitation services after the community had lived for ten days with overflowing toilets.

What was planned as a relatively brief inspection turned into a marathon session as members of the community led me from one desperate situation to another.

The conditions in which these citizens live are not fit for animals. They cannot escape because they are trapped in the cycle of poverty. As if things weren't already bad enough, the economic impact of the Covid pandemic has squeezed them to the point of suffocation.

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Brett Herron reveals the inhumane conditions that residents of Cape Town's poorest townships are permitted to endure by the city government.

29/07/2021

Those who sought to use poor people as a Trojan Horse, to create chaos through looting as a smokescreen to achieving political aims, came short because they failed to reckon with the simple fact that good South Africans outnumber bad.

They miscalculated that the impacts of poverty, Covid and political party factionalism had destroyed the nation’s soul.

The fact that good people outnumber bad was a foundation stone of Nelson Mandela’s philosophy to fixing apartheid South Africa, and is the platform from which we recommit ourselves to fixing South Africa today.

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Those who used poor people as a Trojan horse to create chaos lost, because the amount of GOOD South Africans outnumber the bad.

05/07/2021

South Africa provides a grim perspective on the gaps that exist between laws and peoples' lived experience on the ground.

We have an undoubtedly progressive Constitution that protects each and every South African regardless of consideration such as race, gender or sexual orientation

But extreme violence, mutilations and sexual assault are still commonly perpetrated in our country due to peoples' prejudices.

Each hate crime that is perpetrated is another unsavoury report card on the slow pace of social progress.

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The months leading up to Pride Month witnessed a series of gruesome attacks of LGBTIQ+ people, particularly in poorer communities.

01/07/2021

Wherever I go, people ask me about GOOD's plans to contest local government elections in October, and our approach to fixing municipalities.

They are nauseated by the ruling party's weaknesses and corruption, but also sick and tired of the official opposition's dishonesty and baaskap.

Many see them both as sinking ships, relics of the past ill-equipped to contribute to the national task of building a better and more inclusive future. They are on the lookout for something better, for signs of GOOD.

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Wherever I go, people ask me about GOOD's plans to contest local government elections in October, and our approach to fixing municipalities.

28/06/2021

DA Cape Town councillor Nora Grose has been arrested by the Hawks in connection with fraud and money-laundering involving a church in Table View.

Her arrest followed an investigation into the misappropriation of City of Cape Town Covid-19 Food Relief funds unlawfully transferred to the church's bank account.

Mayor of Cape Town Dan Plato launched his campaign to return as the DA's mayoral candidate for Cape Town in local government elections in October at the same church last year.

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Veteran DA Cape Town councillor Nora Grose has been arrested by the Hawks in connection with fraud and money-laundering charges.

24/06/2021

It is said that no true change is achievable if young people are not leading the charge, and this is borne out by our own history. The 1976 youth uprising will forever form part of the revolutionary architecture that delivered our freedom.

From then, and increasingly through the 1980s, young people were pivotal in the disintegration of apartheid and, ultimately, ushering in our democracy.

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It is said that no true change is achievable if young people are not leading the charge, and this is borne out by our own history.

23/06/2021

Freezing weather, power blackouts and water cut-offs – on top of a surging pandemic.

Johannesburg residents can be forgiven for feeling the Armageddon has come this winter. In truth, however, they are feeling the effects of decades of poor leadership, dishonest funding allocations, skewed priorities, lack of accountability and absence of vision.

The ANC-led Johannesburg Municipality is running Jozi into the ground, and its DA/EFF predecessors are equally complicit. They blame each other, they blame Eskom and they blame City Power. But their blame games don't mask the fact that in their collective hands this African powerhouse city has been reduced to rubble.

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Johannesburg residents can be forgiven for feeling Armageddon has come this winter. In truth, they are feeling the effects if poor leaders.

22/06/2021

The City of Cape Town has stopped answering questions posed by GOOD in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature.

Over the past six months, each time GOOD MPL Brett Herron has asked Western Cape MEC Anton Bredell questions about Cape Town, Bredell has responded on behalf of the City that the information Herron seeks is none of his business as the City is not accountable to other levels of government.

DA members of parliament routinely receive answers to questions they ask about ANC-led municipalities across the country. But where the DA leads, it refuses to be held accountable.

READ MORE: https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/hey-dan-plato-wat-steek-julle-weg

21/05/2021

Members of the struggling Zoar community, near Calitzdorp, are disgusted by remarks by a well-fed DA Cape Town councillor that their votes could be simply bought by giving them food parcels.

"Hierdie arrogante DA-raadslid d**k dat omdat ons mense arm is, is dit maklik dat ons vir hulle politieke omkopery val," het Johan Arendse, 67, gesê.

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Community members in Zoar say that councillor Angus McKenzie wrongly believes that their votes can simply be bought. These is their comment.

20/05/2021

The recent visit to West Coast harbours by GOOD Leader and Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia de Lille, gave members of struggling fishing communities new insights into the future of their towns.

The Minister explained national government's programme to develop small harbours and state owned coastal properties into sites of new business opportunities, and catalysts for economic development, growth and job creation.

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Patricia de Lille was on a recent visit to Saldanha Bay where she revealed the promising future of fishing towns and their communities.

19/05/2021

GOOD members picketed outside the Swellendam Magistrate's Court today, calling on the State to refuse bail to alleged serial killer Brian Mudyiwayana. He is charged with six counts of murder in Swellendam, Worcester and Mossel Bay. Five of the victims were women.

The picketers said Mudyiwayana’s appearance proved that the lives of women of colour in the rural areas were not cheap. “Waar ons bly, in platteland dorpies onder die DA, voêl dit asof die base glad nie vir ons as hul medemense sien nie. Daarom sê ons baie dankie vir die NPA vir dié saak. Ons sê: Sluit die ou op en gooi weg die sleutel,” said Mr Leslie Swarts.

19/05/2021

Koop jy R100 se krag kry jy nou minder as 30 eenhede in plekke soos Veldrif, Saldanhabaai, Paarl en George.

Krag pryse skiet die hoogtes in terwyl die DA munisipaliteite groter en groter winste maak uit elektriseteits verkope se pryse wat afgedwing word deur raadslede se besluite.

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Krag pryse skiet die hoogtes in terwyl die DA munisipaliteite groter en groter winste maak uit elektriseteits verkope se pryse.

18/05/2021

South Africa is a land of tremendous diversity: From arid desert to rich farmland, from mansions to shacks, from mbaqanga to boeremusiek – and everything in-between.

But wherever you travel across this beautiful land, from our cities to country towns to rural dorpies and villages, there is a common thread of inequality – of hardship, for many. And the hardship is compounded by poor service delivery.

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Aunty Pat lays out her thoughts on the 2021 Local Government Elections. Furthermore, she paints an image of the country that we could be.

17/05/2021

The GOOD option for a non-racial and corruption free South Africa built on four legs of justice: social, economic, environmental and spatial, is proving very appetizing to decent people across the country.

At just over two-years-old, the movement has been experiencing a dramatic growth spurt.

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Viva GOOD! GOOD branches, municipal campaign teams and leaders are hard at work campaigning for a progressive, bright and GOOD future.

17/05/2021

This once economic power house of the Eastern Cape lies in tatters. Many wonder how it will manage to rise from the ashes wrought by Covid 19, maladministration and looting by past ANC city governments – and ultimately the self-destruction of DA-led rule.

What is clear is that politicians, on their own, won't be able to fix it. The only route out of this sordid mess is for the people, across race and class divisions, to join hands to pick up the pieces.

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Lawrence Troon describes the mismanagement led by the ANC and DA in Nelson Mandela Bay. He also expresses his hope for a GOOD future.

13/05/2021

GOOD MP Shaun August has written to Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu to thank her, on behalf of the people of Calvinia, for the steps her department has taken to secure the Northern Cape town's water supply.

August first wrote to Sisulu in January 2020, in his capacity as a member of parliament's Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, following an oversight trip to the Northern Cape.

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Shaun August notes the improvements made to the water sources for residents in Calvinia, and how these improvements came to be.

12/05/2021

The lies of Bonginkosi Madikizela, former Western Cape leader of the DA and MEC, caught up with him when he was exposed by his own colleagues in order to dirty his name and remove him from the race to be a mayoral candidate for Cape Town.

Madikizela's lies about having completed a degree were exposed weeks after he was found guilty by the Public Protector for lying in the legislature about the City of Cape Town's cancellation of social housing projects in the inner-city initiated by former City leaders Patricia De Lille and Brett Herron.

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The lies of Bonginkosi Madikizela, former Western Cape leader of the DA and MEC, caught up with him when he was exposed by his colleagues.

08/04/2021

The Expanded Public Works Programme’s policy framework must be reviewed to stop politicians and officials dishing out work opportunities to friends, family and/or in exchange for votes.

After submitting a public petition to Parliament late last year calling for the review, the GOOD Party was given the opportunity in March to address the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure on motivation and context.

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The Expanded Public Works Programme’s policy framework must be reviewed to stop politicians and officials to create jobs for votes.

07/04/2021

Elizebeth Nonyane of Soshanguve is a widowed mother of six children. She has no job, no income, and is forced to live off the social grants of others.

She fears for the day her children grow up and her mother passes away, because the grants will dry up and she’ll have no way of feeding herself, at all.

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Elizebeth Nonyane of Soshanguve is a widowed mother of six. She has no job, no income, and is forced to live off the social grants.

06/04/2021

Since the 1960s, when forced removals to barren townships rapidly eroded social cohesion and people's sense of community, instead of addressing the underlying issues leading to anti-social behaviour – such as the culture of gangsterism – the State has responded with bullets, truncheons, courts and prisons.

This has led to a vicious cycle criminalising young people of colour. Many end up in prison for non-violent crimes, where future hardened criminals are honed. They are released back into the community, only to commit worse offences, and face re-arrest and imprisonment.

By Brett Herron

https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/playing-cops-and-robbers-with-cape-gangsters-doesn-t-work

The state continues to respond to gangsterism with truncheons, courts and prisons. There has to be a better way to solve this dilemma.

05/04/2021

South Africa can no longer afford to delay implementing a Basic Income Grant (BIG) that will monthly place a small sum of money in the pockets of those who are starving but don’t qualify for existing social grants such as child, pensioner and disability grants.

When I delivered this message, as a motion on GOOD’s behalf to parliament in March, we scored a rare full house: Our proposal united all parties across their usual divides.

BY Shaun August

https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/good-places-basic-income-grant-back-on-the-agenda

South Africa can no longer afford to delay implementing a Basic Income Grant (BIG) that will monthly help those who are starving.

04/04/2021

It is a great honour and challenge to have been given the opportunity to begin to fix rugby in a region of the country that once sat proudly at the sport’s top table.

It is a region, headquartered in Gqeberha, previously known as Port Elizabeth, which contains all the necessary elements to be a rugby powerhouse, as it was in the past – and a powerhouse of SA rugby transformation.

- Pieter de Villiers

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The Eastern Cape is known as the Home of Legends. It has produced legendary warriors, political leaders and rugby players.

03/04/2021

The killing of a passer-by in a hail of rubber bullets fired by police in the general direction of protesting students at Wits University on 10 March reflects a broken society in which the lives of ordinary people, particularly Black people, are not regarded as precious.

Mthokozisi Ntumba, 35, was not a participant in the protest action. Had he been a participant it wouldn’t make his killers any more or less guilty of the crime of murder.

- Sam Shabane

https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/good-police-don-t-kill-with-rubber-bullets

The killing of a passer-by by police in the midst of student protests is abhorrent. It is time that South Africans hold police accountable.

01/04/2021

If we are to fix South Africa we need to stem the tide of violence. Violence that is committed in our homes and on the streets. Gender-based violence. Gang-related violence. Violence committed by security force members meant to uphold the peace. - PATRICIA DE LILLE, GOOD LEADER

Read the full article here: https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/to-fix-violence-we-must-fix-commmunities

Stemming the current tide of violence involves taking a long and hard look at the state of our communities. Only then can we make progress.

01/04/2021

COVID-19 UPDATE

Ducking the third wave

South Africans escaped another hard Covid lockdown for the Easter weekend, with President Cyril Ramaphosa appealing to citizens to accept responsibility for avoiding further trauma by maintaining face-mask, social distancing and hygiene protocols.

Large parts of Europe are presently back under lockdown, and the pandemic is wreaking unprecedented havoc in South America. South Africa has recorded the highest incidence of the virus in Africa, although not all continental statistics are considered reliable.

Addressing the nation at the end of March, a year after South Africa's first lockdown, Ramaphosa sought to balance the needs of the economy and public health.

Liquor stores would temporarily close for the weekend; religious gatherings, restaurants and bars would remain open; and the midnight to 4am curfew would remain.

New infections would be closely monitored, with regulations to be reviewed in mid-April, he said.

Scientists have predicted that a third wave in South Africa is imminent – but the pandemic is unpredictable and nobody knows for sure.

As at 31 March, South Africa had recorded more than 1.5m cases and 52 788 Covid-related deaths. The country's vaccination programme has got off to a very slow start.

https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/covid-19-update-ducking-the-third-wave

South Africans have escaped another hard lockdown for the Easter Weekend. President Ramaphosa has, however, appealed for safety.

02/03/2021

Treats on 2021 sporting platter

The importance of sport to the overall psyche of the nation was exposed last year. While being deprived of ci******es and alcohol under lockdown made the headlines, being starved of live action while stuck at home in a time of anxiety and loss made life seem extra unbearable.

As international vaccine rollouts commence, many are hopeful that the 2021 sporting calendar will proceed without hiccups – it is due to be a special year.

Among the headline attractions, the Tokyo Olympics, is scheduled for July and August. The news that our golden hurdler Wade van Niekerk is returning to fitness is therefore well-timed. We are 100% behind Caster Semenya being given the opportunity to show what we're made of. And we have high hopes that Chad Le Clos will blitz a highly competitive swimming field.

For soccer fans, it's a bumper year as ever. In May, Europe's best clubs will do battle in the UEFA Champions League. In June and July the best will square off at Wembley Stadium for the 2021 UEFA Cup.

At home, Pirates, Chiefs, Sundowns and Supersport are perennial favourites for the DSTV Premiership and Telkom Knockout Cup. Many will be watching Benni MacCarthy's moves at Amazulu... and will Cosmos continue to climb back to join the head table?

On the rugby field, the main course is the return of the British & Irish Lions to our shores after an absence of 12 years. It will be the Springboks first major mission since winning the 2019 World Cup. It is also the year that South Africa's big four franchises, the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions, stop travelling down under for Super Rugby and join the European Top 16 League, instead. The future of the annual rugby championships featuring the All Blacks, Australia, Springboks and Argentina has yet to be announced.

The South African women's rugby team will compete at the World Cup in New Zealand, aiming to emulate the victory of their male counterparts.

On our roads, mass events such as the Comrades Marathon, Two Oceans Marathon and Cape Town Cycle Tour are set to take place for the first time in two years.

With organisers learning how to stage events safely, and vaccinations underway, sport nuts are in for a treat.

30/12/2020

View some of GOOD's highlights of 2020 here: https://www.waarheidnews.co.za/post/2020-good-wheels-start-turning