Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has hit back at Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum for withdrawing from the National Dialogue Convention.
AfriForum, Solidarity and Solidarity Movement withdrew from the National Dialogue accusing the African National Congress (ANC)-led government of hijacking the dialogue and degenerating it into a government-driven national monologue.
The decision also comes as other legacy foundations, including those bearing the names of Thabo Mbeki, Desmond Tutu, Oliver Tambo, and Chief Albert Luthuli, have formally withdrawn from the upcoming National Dialogue Convention, scheduled for Friday, 15 August.
WHY DID THE OTHER LEGACY FOUNDATIONS WITHDRAW FROM THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE CONVENTION?
In a joint statement released on Friday, 8 August, the legacy foundations cited serious concerns over breaches of key principles governing the National Dialogue process.
These include government overreach, a rushed timeline, lack of transparency, and financial instability – factors they say undermine the credibility and original citizen-driven spirit of the event.
Despite withdrawing from the 15 August event, the foundations emphasised that they are not abandoning the broader National Dialogue project.
LESUFI ‘CELEBRATES’ AFRIFORUM’S WITHDRAWAL
On Tuesday, 12 August, AfriForum took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that they have also withdrawn from the dialogue.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the crisis the country is currently in is due to the ANC’s failed policies, mismanagement and corruption.
Kriel said they are the cause of the problems and, therefore, they cannot be trusted to lead the process of finding solutions.
In response, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi accused the lobby groups of being racist.
“Who’s next? Thanks for not attending, we honestly don’t need your racist views,” he posted on X.
Unsurprisingly, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, Flip Buys, said national discussions are essential to find solutions to the country’s pressing crises, but everything indicates that the National Dialogue at this stage will only result in more useless discussions, instead of action.
“The reason for this is that it appears that the ANC wants to hijack the intended the dialogue to try to win back lost support, rather than find answers to the crises.
“Therefore, the Solidarity Movement supports the various foundations that have decided not to attend the dialogue on Friday, and we will not be there either. There is no point in putting the party responsible for the decline in the country in charge of the National Dialogue,” he said.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT AFRIFORUM AND SOLIDARITY’S DECISION TO WITHDRAW FROM THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE CONVENTION?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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