I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Democratic Alliance (DA) for having decided that it will not take part in the National Dialogue.
I don’t care about the reasons behind the DA’s decision to abstain from this process.
After all the National Dialogue is not for or about the DA or any other political party for that matter.
Other parties like the ANC, EFF, MK PARTY, FF PLUS, ATM, UDM, PAC, AZAPO etc must also stay away from the National Dialogue process.
All political parties think the National Dialogue is a process whereby they will just go and make an input with nothing tangible happening afterwards.
My foot, what input are all these political parties going to make because we already know about their standpoint on various issues and many of them have a platform in Parliament to ventilate their issues.
The National Dialogue must not be a political playground, it must be a society-driven process, not another CODESA.
Ordinary South Africans and not civic organisations, political parties, trade unions or charity organisations must make representations there.
The National Dialogue should be about that old woman who has no access to water in the Transkei; that old woman whose children are addicted to the drug called Nyaope in Mamelodi; that gentleman who has been on the housing waiting list for over 30 years in Alexander; that young man whose identity document has been blocked by the Department of Home Affairs; that soccer-loving uncle who can’t watch professional football in Mamelodi because the stadium has been demolished; that business lady in Soweto who is forced to pay “protection fee” to a group of extortionists; that musician who is struggling to get royalties from a record company; that employee who is paid a salary that is below the breadline; that lady who wants to see illegal foreigners being deported from this country; that scriptwriter who wants to see “gate-keepership” and nepotism being abolished at various TV channels so that the country can also watch his/ her productions on TV; that old woman who can’t access monetary loan from any bank because she doesn’t have the so-called collateral; that young girl whose R370 SRD grant has been stopped by SASSA; that observant guy who feels Public Investment Corporation (PIC) should invest its money directly into creating jobs for millions of South Africa; that maverick guy who feels that ownership of the National Lottery should be nationalised instead of enriching a few ANC cadres and their families and that guy who feels taxi owners must be closely monitored and audited so that they pay tax according to what they actually earn and that woman who wants the cancellation of the online admission system which denies her girl child the right to attend a school that is near her home; that old chap who opines that cable thieves must be handed stiff sentences instead of a lenient fine or suspended sentence; that gentleman who has to stand in a queue to get water from water tanks because a group of water mafias has destroyed the pipe supplying water to his house and that of his neighbours; that self-styled intellectual who feels that the present proportional representation Parliamentary system should be abolished as it is not representative because it does not allow citizens to vote directly for the president of the country as well as MPs and that annoyed lady who feels that the tender system should be abolished.
Now when making representations at the National Dialogue hearings, will politicians raise any of the aforesaid issues bedeviling the country?
The answer is a big “no.”
Now since the political parties won’t raise issues which are of concern to the citizens of South Africa, their inputs would be irrelevant and a waste of time to all and sundry.
As I said before, politicians, trade unions, civic organisations, civil rights groups, experts and consultants etc must stay away from this process.
As a parting shot I must reveal to you that I am still waiting for a response from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya regarding how much those entrusted with the responsibility to lead the National Dialogue are going to be paid or whether they will be working for free because they have been touted as persons who love their country dearly and would actually sacrifice themselves to make sure that South Africa becomes a success story.
Thanks once again to the DA for pulling out of the National Dialogue process.
Here’s hoping that all other political parties will do the same.
I rest my case.