‘What has gone wrong?’ – Mbeki, Biko foundations call for national dialogue amid ‘political crisis’

African National Congress (ANC) veteran and chairperson of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, says South Africa is in a political crisis after no political party won an outright majority in last month’s general election.

On Thursday, a group of leading foundations convened a press conference at Houghton Estate in Johannesburg.

The gathering aimed to announce plans for a national dialogue, intending to foster public engagement on the future of South Africa.

This follows a decline in voter turnout on 29 May, which, according to the foundations, indicated that society’s belief in democracy is “diminishing”.

‘Inclusive’ national dialogue

In her opening address, Fraser-Moleketi stated that the country needed to reflect on “what has gone wrong and how can it be addressed” in the past 30 years.

“The results produced by the 2024 elections call upon us to reflect on the South Africa we want for the future and our children,” she said on Thursday.

“What was set out when the democratic dispensation was established and the Constitution was adopted has not been achieved. I think we all agreed that there’s a lot more work to be done.

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“We started that with great enthusiasm and we made gains, but we have also lost some of those gains in recent years,” the ANC veteran continued.

She highlighted that the fact that only 16 million out of 40 million eligible citizens voted in the recent elections was concerning.

“The greatest warning was by the majority of people who withheld their vote because that exceeded the number of the votes to political parties.”

Fraser-Moleketi added that an “inclusive” national dialogue was necessary in light of South Africa’s current climate.

SA a ‘ticking time bomb’

Steve Biko Foundation’s chief executive officer (CEO), Nkosinathi Biko, delivered a joint statement emphasising that the purpose of the dialogue was to forge a “common vision” for the future.

He stressed the urgency of the situation by describing South Africa as a “ticking time bomb” that required immediate attention to defuse.

“It must be disarmed through a more responsive democracy,” he said.

Biko noted a prevailing sense of “despair, hopelessness, and general despondency” among the public.

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“This feeling in society has been on the ascendency for more than a decade and threatens to reverse the gains of our hard-earned democracy. As the foundations, we are concerned about the perilous state that the country finds itself in.”

He indicated that the foundations noted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for a national dialogue during his inauguration.

“We believe that those tasked with governance must also occupy their place at the people’s table of national dialogue,” Biko added.