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While political party Compatriots of South Africa will not be contesting the upcoming elections, it has given its support to the GOOD Party, and wants its supporters to vote for GOOD, following discussions between both parties over the weekend.
The party, Compatriots of South Africa, is based in the Eastern Cape, with the slogan 'Restoring our dignity' and a focus on communities it believes have been marginalised in the democratic South Africa.
GOOD Party said in a statement on Monday that while there had been much change in South Africa since the end of Apartheid, more should have been done to make up for the historic injustices.
"The GOOD Party extends its gratitude to Compatriots of South Africa for endorsing the necessity to stop our people's suffering. The majority of South Africans are good people. Regardless of where they live, what they look like or what language they speak, they share the ideal of raising children able to take the opportunities that come their way, and live lives of decency and dignity. The GOOD Party's no-frills approach to prioritise re-balancing a profoundly unequal country by addressing the suffering and indignity of millions of citizens who, 30 years after democracy, still find themselves shut out of the economy, is winning the support of good people across the country," GOOD said.

The George municipality has reported that, as at 15:00 on May 13, 25 people still remain unaccounted for following last week's building collapse.
The death toll has risen to 27, while 13 people remain in hospital.
Rescue efforts have been under way since the partially built building in the George central business district collapsed on May 6.

South Africans will vote in a national election on May 29 with an unprecedented sense of uncertainty about the outcome, as polls suggest the African National Congress (ANC) will lose its majority after 30 years in power.
With coalition government looking like a possibility for the first time since the end of apartheid, a dizzying array of 70 parties from Marxists to social democrats to free marketeers are vying for voters' attention in the last weeks of campaigning.
The following are the key issues that matter to voters who will elect a new National Assembly that will then choose the next president.
JOBS
South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, trapping millions of people in poverty and making them reliant on social grants, and the problem is worse now than it was at the end of apartheid.
The joblessness rate stood at 32.4% in 2023, nearly 10 points higher than in 1994, when the ANC came to power. Young people account for more than half of the country's unemployed, with a rate of over 40%.
ECONOMY
The root cause of the joblessness crisis is sluggish growth. South Africa's economy has barely grown in more than a decade, with economic growth averaging 0.8% since 2012.
Falling tax revenue has caused government debt to rise, with debt-servicing costs consuming a greater share of the national budget than basic education, social protection or health. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 74.1% in the current fiscal year, up from 63.3% five years ago.
POWER CUTS
Known to South Africans as loadshedding, scheduled power cuts imposed by State utility Eskom because of an inability to generate enough electricity to meet demand are the bane of households as well as companies.
Eskom has been struggling to keep its ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants operational. The utility became dysfunctional in part due to a flourishing of corruption during the administration of former president Jacob Zuma from 2009 to 2018.
The government is working to add generating capacity, largely through deals with private companies operating solar and wind projects. While some projects are operational, the green power push suffered setbacks after some projects failed to secure funding.
CORRUPTION
A long series of corruption scandals involving ANC figures or people connected to them has created a perception among many South Africans that the greed of people in office is contributing to poor service delivery for everyone else.
An inquiry established in 2018 to examine allegations of high-level corruption during Zuma's years in power found the problem had been systemic in government, a phenomenon that became known as "state capture". Zuma himself denies any wrongdoing.
Since taking over from Zuma, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said tackling corruption was a priority, but opposition critics say his administration has done too little to stop the rot.
CRIME
South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime, making it unsafe to venture into certain neighbourhoods. The problem is worse in the densely populated townships on the peripheries of cities where many Black working class people live.
The murder rate for 2022/23 was the highest in 20 years at 45 per 100 000, a 50% increase from a decade ago, police figures show. That is higher than in Honduras, a country plagued by extreme gang violence.
High levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality have created fertile ground for crime to take root in South Africa, compounded by the proliferation of organised criminal groups and a flood of illegal weapons in recent years.
IMMIGRATION
Since the end of apartheid, South Africa has attracted large numbers of refugees and immigrants from other African countries, seeking a safe haven and job opportunities.
The most recent census, in 2022, found that 2.4-million of South Africa's population of 62-million were immigrants, compared with 835 000 in 1996, the year the post-apartheid constitution was promulgated.
Over the years,

Congress of the People's (Cope's) Gauteng Premier candidate and chairperson Tom Mofokeng is focussed on ensuring that large multinational companies are able to work with the State to ensure Gauteng is economically sustained.
Speaking exclusively with Polity, he noted that major companies were leaving South Africa's shores, impacting employment and provincial economies.
His major focus will be on manufacturing and steel to ensure development of the country's infrastructure. He said if need be, he would ensure that companies were subsidised to ensure their survival.
"I can push to have that company subsidised because with the steel that comes there, we are going to develop the country, we are going to develop the entire Africa. But not only that, you know, you have just seen what happened with the George disaster. One can only ascribe that to poor quality of building. Now, my priority will be to make sure that steel is manufactured here in South Africa," he pledged.
His second area of focus is petroleum. He said local companies such as Sasol were not given enough opportunities to thrive.
He noted that Sasol provided a large number of jobs and was a large corporate taxpayer in South Africa.
"Why would you prioritise all these other companies that are bringing crude oil and all those kinds of things from outside the country and not concentrate on your own, so that jobs should be created. You can just imagine if we can prioritise that how much of the young people are going to be trained technologically," he pointed out.
Mofokeng also had an eye on fixing electricity supply in the province and said he was not against privatising certain portions of State-owned entity Eskom.
"…because you need the private sector to try and inject money in your major project," he said.
Cope also wanted to professionalise the State by hiring by qualifications, not nepotism, Mofokeng said.
THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR
Mofokeng believed that Gauteng's middle class had been neglected and said this was the key to ensuring that the poor were uplifted from poverty.
He said the middle class was being denied opportunities to start businesses and employ those who needed jobs.
"Your [small and medium-sized enterprises] are basically a product of your thinkers in the province, and this province has got marvellous people that can take this province to greater heights. Not only that, but I will also look into making sure that middle class families are actually getting growth, in quality and in quantity. What do I mean by that, I mean that many political parties they're making noise, saying 'we want to solve the problem of the poor'. The problem of the poor is not with the poor; it is with the middle class. If you invest in the middle class and give them opportunities to do what they are supposed to do… these are the people that are going to pull the poor, out of poverty, and give them opportunities," Mofokeng stated.
COPE LEADERSHIP
Cope will see its leader Mosiuoa Lekota step down from his position, in line with the party's constitution, which prescribes that a leader can only stay on for two terms.
While Lekota will still be on the May 29 election ballot, the party will hold its national congress only after the May 29 elections to elect its new leader.
The reason for this, Mofokeng revealed, was that the party decided to use the money for its national congress on the party's election campaign.
When asked about the role Lekota would play in the party going forward, Mofokeng said Lekota would be in Cope for a very long time as he still had much to teach from his experience and knowledge of South African politics.
"… that is why we are still going to have him given another responsibility. The party's talking, we can have him as maybe emeritus president, or we can have him maybe as the adviser to the new upcoming president. But those are decisions that can be taken by the conference itself. And who knows, somebody can say, let's change the constitution, bec

South Africa's top court began hearing legal arguments on Friday on whether ex-president Jacob Zuma can run for parliament, a case whose outcome will affect a wide open national election on May 29 and could cause security problems if he loses.
Zuma, 82, who was forced to quit as president in 2018 and was sentenced to jail in 2021, has fallen out with the ruling African National Congress and has been campaigning for a new party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
Polls suggest the ANC will lose its majority after 30 years in power, and MK represents a threat to it, especially in Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal where he is popular. His presence on MK's list of candidates is crucial to the party's appeal.
The case stems from a decision in March by South Africa's electoral commission to disqualify Zuma on the basis that the constitution prohibits anyone given a prison sentence of 12 months or longer from holding a parliamentary seat.
In 2021, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry.
In April, a court overturned the disqualification, saying the relevant section of the constitution applied only to people who had had a chance to appeal against their sentences, which had not been Zuma's case.
The electoral commission challenged that decision in the Constitutional Court, which began hearing the case on Friday with Zuma sitting in the courtroom.
It has not said when it will issue its ruling. Koos Malan, a professor of public law at the University of Pretoria, said he expected the court to act quickly as it would be keenly aware of the charged political situation.
"The court obviously also knows that Mr Zuma has considerable support in KwaZulu Natal. They also know that there is the possibility of a major disruption should Mr Zuma be disqualified to stand as a candidate," he said.
He cited events in July 2021, when news of Zuma's jail sentence triggered riots in the province in which more than 300 people died, and which morphed into a wider spate of looting.
Over 100 of Zuma's supporters gathered outside the court, wearing MK party colours or Zulu traditional attire. The party's merchandise was on sale, and members sang songs praising Zuma's leadership.
MK named itself after the ANC's former armed wing from the apartheid era. The ANC tried to have the party removed from the ballot on the grounds that its name and logo were closely associated with its own history, but an electoral court ruled in MK's favour in March.

Outgoing leader of Congress of the People (Cope) Mosiuoa Lekota said he was following the prescripts of the party's constitution when he announced his retirement but stressed that he is not leaving the party and will stay on for any role the party might need him for.
Speaking exclusively to Polity, Lekota said Cope's constitution prescribed that a leader can only stay on for two terms.
"So, in essence, I'm respecting the constitution. But it doesn't say you must resign from the organisation and go. Most people, I think, think that they must go away so that they don't get instructions from their juniors, but I don't mind that. I'll be able to continue to do the work of the party as a member. And I have completed my two terms. And it's time that I respect the provisions of the constitution," he said.
The party will hold its national congress after the May 29 elections to elect its new leader.
COALITIONS AND THE ANC
Despite recent leadership turbulence in the party, Lekota said he was optimistic about Cope's future after the elections, adding that the party was "pleasantly surprised" to see many people leave the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) to join Cope.
He spoke of the 'nine wasted years' of State capture corruption under the ANC government and said Cope had a track record that proved the party was incorruptible.
"We never stole public funds. And if we didn't steal public funds, what would make us now change? When we have we not only warned about [corruption], but we refused to steal public funds. And everywhere you put us, we are accountable. We will account, we will tell you this is what we did with our money. So if we have had a record of failing the people we would understand, but we think South Africans can give us a chance and check whether we will betray the commitment of years in jail, in exile and all of that. And the commitment we sustained through all of these years since we came to freedom. It's for the people to judge," Lekota said.
He also noted that the party would be open to coalitions with any party that swears to honour South Africa's Constitution.
He said there must be an agreement between parties about what the focus areas were to help citizens, but warned that if there were any parties that "want to favour their friends, such as the African National Congress does", they will not be considered for a coalition with Cope.
When pushed on whether Cope would consider the ANC as a coalition partner if it gave a commitment to no corruption, Lekota said Cope could commit to this scenario.
"But they cannot go on committing corruption, protecting their friends who are corrupt, including the leaders of their own party who are corrupt, who have been pointed out by Chief Justice [Raymond] Zondo in the [State Capture] Commission [of Inquiry] and so on. Frankly, to do that is corruption of the first order," he said.
He said his view was that there were nine wasted years under the ANC government, which he stated the ANC had itself admitted. He said promises were made to voters but nothing was delivered.
"And you can see the state in which the country is in. There's no electricity, there's no water, communities are in tatters, schools, there's no hospitals. Patients are laying on the floor. So it is the ANC that has passed that judgment on itself. And I can say that, if you look at the record of the Congress of the People, you will not find that at any time, there was any one of the leaders of our party who was caught stealing public funds, who have done all this damage, which has been done. But now, you know, we have leaders that put the money in their pillows, putting it in the sofas, and all of that," he said.
He said the ANC had caused "terrible setbacks" to the country and pointed out that people accused of corruption were still on the ANC's Parliamentary lists.
He blamed the ANC for driving essential skills out of the country and said South Africa was initially in a position to drive manufacturing and