Former presidents launch initiative for a national dialogue

THE National Dialogue Initiative, launched by former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and FW de Klerk, will be taken countrywide, with provincial dialogues and regional discussions expected to take place soon.

Organisers from nine prominent foundations said the discussions should be more than just about high-profile individuals, but should include ordinary South Africans.

The Initiative was launched yesterday in Johannesburg, with a number of well-known public officials in attendance, including IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Mamphela Ramphele and Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe.

The event could be described as unprecedented, especially with the number of influential individuals who have backed it.

The former presidents said the dialogue was long overdue, especially within the past three years during which there had been a growing sense of dissatisfaction with President Jacob Zuma’s administration.

Zuma shocked many when he reshuffled his cabinet in March, firing then finance minster Pravin Gordhan and his deputy, Mcebisi Jonas.

All three former presidents touched on issues that had shaped the past couple of years in the political sphere – such as corruption, the state capture issue and the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the R246 million spent on Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.

Mbeki said the Nkandla judgment was a critical example to refer to when assessing the powers of the president. He was also worried about the numerous government issues that had ended up in the courts.

Motlanthe said at the heart of the country’s crisis was a lack of accountability to the citizens by elected officials.

Although many referred to the issues that had gripped the country, organisers were at pains to explain that the dialogue was not an “anti-Zuma” campaign, but about the country’s future.

Missing from the list of foundations present was the Jacob Zuma Foundation. Organisers said the foundation was not deliberately excluded.

EFF members stormed the event carrying placards reading, “FW de Klerk is a killer”. They did not recognise him as a democratically elected official, but as a former-apartheid leader.