Mbeki, Biko foundations among several to pull out of National Convention
Several prominent foundations have withdrawn from the national dialogue preparatory task team (PTT) and the national convention, which is set to take place next Friday.
The Steve Biko, FW de Klerk, Albert Luthuli, and Thabo Mbeki foundations issued a joint statement announcing their withdrawal. They cited the erosion of citizen leadership, the loss of a meaningful platform for the dialogue, and the lack of a rollout plan for the dialogue, among other issues.
In June, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the official dates for the first-ever national dialogue, which aims to address the nation's most pressing socio-economic issues.
The initiative is designed to bring together constituencies from youth and labour, to faith groups, political parties, traditional leaders, and the creative arts, with each group responsible for choosing its delegates.
READ: Ramaphosa announces date for National Dialogue
"We, the undersigned Foundations – representing the legacies of Steve Biko, Chief Albert Luthuli, Thabo Mbeki, Oliver and Adelaide Tambo, FW de Klerk, and Archbishop Desmond and Leah Tutu – have been honoured to serve as custodians of the emerging National Dialogue process. Over the past year, we have committed ourselves to convening a citizen-led, inclusive, and accountable platform to help South Africans confront the deep systemic crises our country faces.
"We have committed to this work, keeping at the centre of our contribution the following principles: The National Dialogue must be citizen-led. It must be a vehicle for all South Africans to engage with each other, and to engage across sectors and communities to build a collective vision and compact for South Africa. It cannot be a government-led process, as this will undermine any credibility," the statement reads.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, patron of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, first called for a national dialogue following the African National Congress's dismal showing at the 2024 general elections.
At the time, Mbeki said it was apparent the ANC no longer had the answers for the day-to-day problems plaguing South Africans.
In a scathing letter to Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen, after the party announced its withdrawal from the dialogue following the sacking of Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister, Mbeki denied that the dialogue was ANC-led or politically motivated.
He clarified that the idea for the dialogue was initially proposed during his public address at Freedom Park on 30 April 2024, marking 30 years of democracy.
The foundations have proposed rescheduling the convention to after 15 October to allow for adequate preparation, coherence, and participatory integrity.
"The National Dialogue is not a government or public consultation process. It is a collectively owned process of deep engagement with the state of our nation, and a bringing forth of a collective vision for our future. It must be qualitatively different to any previous attempts at social compacting.
"The National Dialogue must be inclusive. At the heart of the planned dialogue are 13,664 community and sectoral dialogues, 50,000 citizen-led dialogues, mass media engagement, and the opportunity for everyone – every child, adult, young person, and elder – to participate meaningfully. The National Dialogue must be transparent and accountable, with no space for corruption or mismanagement of funds in its processes."
'NOTHING POLITICAL ABOUT IT' - RAMAPHOSA
Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to the Zuikerbosch Water Plant, on the East Rand, President Cyril Ramaphosa conceded that there were concerns about the readiness to host next week's consultation event.
The President said he met with the PTT: "I raised the concern that the invitations had already gone out to 750 organisations, and many of those organisations have already responded that they are coming. Prior to that meeting, there had been a meeting with civil society, where there were 100 representatives who felt that they wanted to go ahead with the dialogue."
Ramaphosa said he is encouraged that, while they pulled out of the PTT and the convention, the foundations remained committed to the National Dialogue itself.
"They will leave the planning for the first convention to the civil society organisations and officials from the Presidency. From what I gleaned, there was nothing political about it, there was nothing askew about it, it was just the issues of 'are we as ready as we should be'."
The President admits it could be risky to go ahead despite the concerns about readiness, but he is confident the team would do what it takes to be as prepared as possible to ensure the event is a success.
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