More good news needs to surface in South Africa (2013-03-07)
February 17,
2015 14460 14460 
In the last few months, there’s just so much ‘bad news’ hitting South Africa’s media headlines; and this negative publicity doesn't only stay here. The world gets to hear about this news.
No matter what we may think (or be told) that South Africa’s image is not being affected with this negative publicity, it’s simply not true. This is attested by the fact that many international rating agencies have down-graded South Africa’s country ratings across numerous sectors in as many months, and the Auditor General’s latest report doesn't bode much confidence in the performances of local government.
Considering this gloomy picture, South Africans need hope. They need to hear about
those companies and individuals who
are doing good deeds in our society and our country, and which are sustainable.
At CGF Research Institute (CGF), we are bombarded daily with information that is usually linked to poor governance, poor risk management, fraud, crime and the like. Notwithstanding this bad news, it is imperative that we keep a
balanced perspective and remember that there’s also a lot of good things being done in South Africa. And there are still very many good reasons to celebrate our freedom, our Constitution and our individual rights.
We need more good news; we are delighted to share with you some of the more recent projects;
- Continental Outdoor Media: School bags from recycled billboards (04 Mar '13)
- Unitrans Volkswagen: R 6 million donation to fight rhino poaching (Mar '13)
- Nedbank: Massive benefits for charities in Nedbank Cup (13 Feb '13)
- Edcon: Casual Day welcomes Edcon as main sponsor (04 Feb '13)
- Patrice Motsepe: South African Billionaire Joins Giving Pledge (31 Jan '13)
Similar to these wonderful stories, we encourage more organisations to share their Corporate Social Responsibility "good news" projects with CGF. As illustrated in the above projects, these companies are making a positive and real difference in the lives of many people through their good deeds within their communities as well as -- in some respects -- our planet. If each company in South Africa -- no matter their size -- embarks upon similar projects, our country and her people would begin to feel the true meaning of ‘ubuntu’ and ‘togetherness’. There’s no doubt that we all have a role to play, no matter how small the contribution may be.
South Africa needs to turn the tide on our seemingly gloomy situation underpinned by many who don’t have employment, decent shelter, food and security. Indeed, from a corporate perspective, these are the very projects which we are called to account for in our Integrated Reporting.
CGF encourages you to send us any "good news" projects and initiatives – on an ongoing basis – and we will gladly assist in promoting them through our website at no cost whatsoever. We will “fly your banner high”, with the hope that more companies will follow your exemplary example as we build hope, mutual trust and respect in our nation.
Please send your Good News stories to Ms Ann-Donne Strydom at
astrydom@cgf.co.za
