Cape Town — Former president Thabo Mbeki believes the Government of National Unity (GNU) was necessary to put South Africa back on track.
After the African National Congress (ANC) failed to secure an outright majority in the 2024 elections, the party sought allies to form a coalition government. Ten other political parties joined forces with the ANC to establish the GNU.
During an address at the University of South Africa (UNISA) on Wednesday, Mbeki highlighted the ANC’s predicament following the 2024 elections and expressed hope for the success of the ANC-led GNU. He emphasised that planned dialogues would be crucial for giving President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government a strong mandate.
Mbeki noted that while the ANC reached out to various political parties, only ten agreed to form the GNU.
He stressed the importance of the coalition’s success for economic growth and crime reduction and called for unity in addressing the country’s challenges.
Although the timing of the national dialogue remains unclear, Mbeki has been a vocal advocate for it, suggesting it should include all South Africans to address pressing issues effectively.
“It’s a very important intervention. And hopefully, that national dialogue process will then give the GNU the kind of mandate it needs, the mandate from the people as a whole to say this is what needs to be done. So that they don’t keep referring to their manifestos, but must refer to what the people of South Africa have said. So that national dialogue is very important,” he said.
During the speech, Mbeki also revealed that the horrible xenophobic attacks that happened in 2008 were a planned operation to send Zimbabweans back home to vote out former dictator, Robert Mugabe.
Mbeki said there was an intelligence report, which he knew about, that listed people and the motives behind the attacks.
Mbeki said the economic crisis in South Africa is not caused by foreigners, however, the country does need to strengthen its border management processes.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
