GOOD Statement by Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General:
19 May 2025: The latest Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI) “Food for Thought” report exposes a nation in crisis. One in five households in South Africa experiences inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. Thirty percent of boys under five are stunted due to chronic undernutrition, while millions of South Africans are forced to make impossible trade-offs between affordability and nutrition. This is not a food production problem, it is a poverty problem.
As the report makes clear, economic access, the ability to afford food, is the primary barrier to food security. A crisis, exacerbated by a lack of policy coordination, systemic inequality, and a political culture that continues to treat poverty as a footnote rather than a headline.
The 2025/26 Budget impasse has been resolved but as we work toward future budgets, GOOD reiterates our call for the implementation of a Basic Income Grant (BIG) of no less than R1,000 per month, above the food poverty line and just below the lower-bound poverty line. This is not a handout. It is a human right and an economic necessity.
Every rand spent supporting people circulates through the economy. It fuels demand, restores dignity, and builds resilience. It is time to treat hunger as the national emergency it is.
More than a year has passed since the formation of the Government of National Unity. The GNU parties agreed to deliver a fairer, more just society. That starts with ensuring no one goes hungry. GOOD stands ready to shape and implement the urgent reforms our country needs. A Basic Income Grant must be one of them.
GOOD Manifesto on Trade Practices: Supporting fair trade practices that benefit South African businesses.
Don Stab
Fun South African Fact: South Africa is known as the “Rainbow Nation” thanks to its mix of cultures across the country. The status of being a cultural “melting pot” is evident in the fact that South Africa has a whopping 11 official languages: English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, IsiNdebele, Sesotho, Northern Sotho, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga. Most South Africans speak more than one national language. IsiZulu is the most common first language and isiXhosa is second. Fun fact – did you know the people of Wakanda speak isiXhosa in Marvel’s Black Panther movie?
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Germany: You have two cows. One lives in Deutchsland, the other lives in Germany. You still can\’t tell them apart.