The challenges we face in South Africa require a strong moral compass. A clear and strong moral compass comprises absolute values that guide and govern our behaviour as a nation: the rights and responsibilities that both citizens and leaders at all levels of government adhere to. To achieve this we need a fundamental Bill of Values drawn from the primary values, principles, ethics and moral standards that have stood the test of time, and have characterised historically stable governments that gave rise to good, and lasting legacies amongst individual citizens, families, communities, societies, and nations. This Bill of Values, together with a non-partisan, people-driven, societal governance system, will transform the nation.
This booklet offers a compact yet comprehensive process to facilitate firstly, an understanding of what values are and how to interpret them, secondly a proposed set of values and the desirable qualities for candidates for governmental leadership, and thirdly, a selection process that may be followed in order to assist voters / selectors and ministers in identifying the best possible candidates for good governance in a local municipality, in a province, or in the nation as a whole.
Good government is only as good as the individuals it is composed of. The process described will go a long way towards identifying such individuals. Since the Constitutional Court ruling in June of 2020 that Independent candidates may be elected to national office, it has become critical for the nation to know how to approach forthcoming elections in such a way that errors of judgement are avoided, and the best possible candidates for the task are elected.