Cape Town – Former president Thabo Mbeki has called for an inclusive national dialogue to address South Africa’s challenges, including high unemployment, poverty, and lawlessness.
Speaking at the South African Communist Party (SACP) conference in Boksburg, Mbeki emphasised the importance of citizens taking an active role in shaping the country’s future, urging that it is no longer just political formations like in the Codesa negotiations of 1990, but the people as well.
“You’ve got an additional task this year, the additional task is very critical important because it is about the people deciding where their own country should go, its no longer Codesa, when we at in Codesa in 1990 whatever, it was a political formation and this time its political formations plus the people,” Mbeki.
Watch below, as Mbeki speaks (Courtesy of SABC News)
Former president Thabo Mbeki is urging the government to implement an inclusive national dialogue. Mbeki has emphasized that widespread unemployment, poverty, and lawlessness have plagued the country. pic.twitter.com/JlrGS623kQ
— SABC News (@SABCNews) December 14, 2024
His remarks came a few days after he expressed concerns about South Africa’s escalating unemployment, poverty, and inequality, criticising the government’s failure to address these issues effectively.
Speaking at an ANC event in the Western Cape, Mbeki highlighted that the social compact designed to tackle these challenges had been abandoned.
He criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2022 promise of a new social compact, which he claimed had not been delivered, and warned that addressing only a small fraction of the compact would not solve the country’s problems.
President Thabo Mbeki is concerned by the conduct of the current ANC NEC led by President Cyril Ramaphosa
He says he is leading them astray
He says past commitments are not getting followed through, instead Ramaphosa comes with new ones.
No ones stops him & ask about… pic.twitter.com/jEEbC6qiOH— Constitution First 🇿🇦 (@Constitution_94) December 8, 2024
“Practically, the social compact has been abundant. what that means, comrades is that there is no program to address these challenges of unemployment, poverty, it doesn’t exist.
“The President was talking the other day about launching a second phase of a partnership between government and business. That second phase is addressing a fraction, maybe 5% of what was part of the social compact. You abandon the 95% and implement 5% it’s not going to solve our problems of unemployment or poverty and all of that,” Mbeki said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
