Maimane joins Mashaba’s dialogue

Former Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane announced yesterday he has joined the People’s Dialogue, which former Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba recently launched, to break down divisions and build a united country.

In a video released yesterday, Maimane started his announcement with the familiar words: “One South Africa for all.”

This was also the DA’s campaign slogan for the May 2019 election.

“Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to reflect on that vision,” he said. “As I reflect, I think of the mother I met in Alex with hope of a better tomorrow for her child. She wanted her child to grow up in a safe community, with educational opportunities and access to a good-paying job and affordable healthcare.

“This is the same vision that a mom I met from Rondebosch had for her child.

“When I look at South Africa, I see a country brimming with potential, but plagued by leadership that divides us, black against white, against coloured, against Indian. They keep us divided so that they can distract us from how they are in fact failing us.

“And I’m joining the People’s Dialogue to offer this: if we break down what divides us and work together, we can build a united country that puts South Africans first,” Maimane said.

On Friday, Mashaba said he decided to launch the People’s Dialogue after he resigned from the DA and gave up his seat as mayor.

“Like many South Africans, I have lost faith in our political system. Nothing could demonstrate this more than the events that have taken place over the past 48 hours across major metros in South Africa,” Mashaba said, referring to the tumult around the mayoral positions in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay. – News24 Wire