GOOD Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General
Blaming African immigrants and refugees for South Africa’s poverty, unemployment and tardy implementation of post-apartheid redress is untrue, morally bankrupt, and a dog-whistle for public violence.
Nobody will benefit from another bout of xenophobic-driven looting and savagery such as that of 2008, which claimed 62 lives. Since then, anti-immigrant sentiment has become increasingly organised and confrontational.
After a steady build-up in activity over the past year, with the organisation March and March most recently at the forefront, government has been warned of dire consequences if immigrants without legal documentation have not left the country by 30 June 2026.
Those who have imposed the 30 June deadline deny that they are xenophobic, saying their movement is solely focused on ridding the country of “illegal immigrants and foreign nationals involved in crime”. It is unlikely, however, that the people they are mobilising to march with them will make such distinctions.
Millions of South Africans who remain excluded from the economy and forced to live in miserable conditions – with evaporating hope – rightfully question why 32 years of democracy have not benefited them more. They also rightfully question what the State is doing about it.
To blame immigrants and refugees for their woes however, smacks of opportunism and is misplaced. Immigrants and refugees are not responsible for South Africa’s immigration policies and practises, for private land remaining overwhelmingly in White hands, for the thriving cultures of organised crime and corruption, for the barely growing economy, for the quality of social environments and service delivery… Those are responsibilities of the State.
The GOOD Party appeals to all parties, including political parties associated with the anti-immigrant campaign, to stop fanning the flames of discontent. You are fuelling a conflagration of ethnic hatred that will inevitably consume lives, self-esteem, and respect for South Africa.
Whether your objective is to force the State to implement its laws, or to use the issue to influence local government elections, the means don’t justify the ends.
Politics in a constitutional democracy is a battle of ideas fought at the ballot box; it cannot be fought by vigilantes on the streets.
GOOD wrote an open letter addressed to Minister of Police on 7 May 2026 with regards to this issue.
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France: You have two cows. You kill them, throw away everything except the filet mignon, and make cheese with the leftover Pasteurized milk.
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Fun South African Fact: For nearly 50 years, there was a state of apartheid – white minority rule – in South Africa.