Former President Thabo Mbeki Says National Dialogue ‘Hijacked’ as Foundations Withdraw. Image credit: EWN
(The Post News)- Former president Thabo Mbeki has explained why several prominent foundations pulled out of South Africa’s planned national dialogue, saying the process lost credibility and became compromised by rushed planning and questionable financial claims.
Speaking at UNISA on Friday, Mbeki said the dialogue was initially conceived as a citizen-led platform to tackle poverty, inequality and other enduring challenges. “The issue is not lack of knowledge, it’s that we haven’t been able to solve them,” he said. “Never mind the election manifestos, none of them has helped us fix the problem.”
Max Boqwana, CEO of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, said the task team was accused in court of trying to benefit the ANC and access government funds improperly. “We made it clear that no foundation or task team member would touch a cent. Any resources would be handled transparently through NEDLEC,” Boqwana said. The court dismissed the case.
Soon after, Boqwana said, another group claimed to take over the process, demanding a national convention within eight days and boasting of R28 million in funding. “This was exactly what we had been falsely accused of. We couldn’t stay involved in a process that had become so compromised,” he said.
The foundations then notified the Presidency of their withdrawal, saying the dialogue no longer met the standards of serious preparation. “The preparations were underwhelming. The process had lost its seriousness. We could not go along with it,” Boqwana said.
A youth representative on the task team said bluntly: “Let us make no mistake about it, the national dialogue has been hijacked. It is our duty now as the citizens of South Africa to reclaim this national dialogue by whatever means necessary.”
Despite pulling out, Boqwana said the foundations would continue working on an alternative process. “We are not prepared to allow this process to fail. It may be the only thing that saves this country from abyss,” he said.
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