Former President Thabo Mbeki. (Photo: Sharon Seretlo / Gallo Images) 
As South Africa prepares for the National Dialogue, with an estimated price tag of R700-million, former President Thabo Mbeki warned that without capable leadership, the process risked being meaningless.
“What will come out of that National Dialogue will need honest, capable hands with integrity to implement what people have said,” said Mbeki.
He was giving a keynote address at UDM leader Bantu Holomisa’s 70th birthday celebration in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Saturday night.
In recent years, Mbeki has been critical of the ANC, speaking about what he refers to as a decline in ethical leadership and the growing problem of corruption in the party.
On Saturday, however, he toned the criticism down, saying that although he had views about ANC leaders, he was not free to mention them by name. He admitted that he, too, was part of the broader problem and anticipated that this would come up during the dialogue.
“They [South Africans] will say uncomfortable truths about us. ‘You were President, and look what a mess you have created in the country.’ And this is therefore what needs to be done in order to respect the people and implement what they have discussed: you need a particular kind of leader. I am not free to talk about our leaders by name.”
The National Dialogue aims to foster national unity and develop shared solutions to South Africa’s pressing challenges, including failing public services, high unemployment, rising crime, corruption, food inflation and economic stagnation.
Read more: National Dialogue: Putting the cart before the horse
It starts with a National Convention on 15 August, which will set the agenda for the broader dialogue. The dialogue has been widely criticised by political parties and ordinary citizens, some of whom have argued that these are not just topics for debate but their daily realities. They want a concrete plan to lead the country out of crisis.
One of the the parties that has rejected the National Dialogue is the EFF. Addressing President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament two weeks ago, the party’s Nontando Nolutshungu said it was not the people of South Africa who had wrecked state-owned enterprises, failed to create jobs and allowed drugs to destroy young people.
She pointed to the ANC’s performance in the 2024 elections. “The people have spoken, and you don’t need R700-million to repeat the message they gave you at the ballots in 2024,” said Nolutshungu.
The uMkhonto Wesizwe party’s John Hlophe said the ANC sought to use the National Dialogue as part of its election campaign ahead of the 2026 local government polls.
“Let me tell the people of South Africa what it really is: it is not a dialogue for them, it is an ANC election campaign funded by taxpayers’ money.
“Mr Ramaphosa, you lead a broken ANC: a party with the lowest membership in decades, a party that has lost key metros, a party that has become a mere shadow of its once proud self. Branches are non-existent, communities are leaderless, and the people have lost faith,” said Hlophe.
Last month, the leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, announced that his party had withdrawn its support for the National Dialogue, citing Ramaphosa’s failure to act against officials accused of corruption, some of whom were members of the Cabinet.
“It is clear that this dialogue will be nothing more than a waste of time and money to distract from the ANC’s failures. This explains why President Ramaphosa and the ANC are so obsessed with it,” said Steenhuisen.
“It is an electioneering ploy, at taxpayer expense, to gloss over the serious crises that the ANC has plunged South Africa into. The dialogue also has no constitutional standing whatsoever to take or impose decisions.”
Responding to the criticism, Ramaphosa said people must ask themselves: “Do we want to break or do we want to rebuild?”
The National Dialogue will be led by the Eminent Persons Group, made up of 31 prominent South Africans, including business leaders, former MPs, academics, athletes, actors, and traditional and spiritual leaders.
Some of those in the group are Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Miss South Africa 2024 Mia le Roux, the leader of the Zion Christian Church, Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane, and the award-winning actor John Kani.
Mbeki wants the dialogue to be a “genuine” one. “Let the people get together and say this is the South Africa we want,” he said. DM