Former president Thabo Mbeki has written a strongly worded open letter to DA leader John Steenhuisen, criticising the Democratic Alliance’s decision to withdraw from the national dialogue while remaining in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Mbeki argued that the DA’s rejection of the dialogue, which they claim is an ANC election strategy, contradicts their earlier commitment to an inclusive process outlined in the GNU agreement.
“And as you know, Zille, and therefore presumably the DA’s view, is that the absence of the latter from the ‘Parliament of the People’ will make the Parliament ‘a sham’ and ‘a hollow exercise’. It is very good that, at last, Zille has openly expressed her eminently arrogant and contemptuous view of the masses of the people, that these cannot think and plan their future correctly, without the DA.
An Open Letter from President Thabo Mbeki, the Patron of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, addressed to DA leader John Steenhuisen—dated 3 July 2025—in which he responds to the DA’s withdrawal from the National Dialogue pic.twitter.com/LCyrn0fEvp
— Thabo Mbeki Foundation (@TMFoundation_) July 3, 2025
“That, presumably, is also the view of the federal leader of the DA who must have felt very proud when he announced that effective immediately, the DA will therefore ‘have no further part in this process. We will also actively mobilise against it.’ I hope that in time the DA will explain to the people why it signed up to the commitment in the statement of intent of the parties in the GNU that parties commit to an all-inclusive national dialogue process, whereas, as Zille said, she had been very opposed to it from the start.”
He defended the dialogue’s legitimacy, clarifying that it was not ANC-led but initiated by the National Foundations Dialogue Initiative, which includes several prominent foundations.
He revealed that President Cyril Ramaphosa had involved multiple stakeholders, including Nedlac, civil society, and government officials, and set up a task team and interministerial committee to act on urgent matters raised in the process.
Mbeki also emphasised that the dialogue is largely funded by foundations and volunteers, with the Treasury expected to support it further.
“In fact, the costs of the preparations to date have been borne by the foundations themselves while the day-to-day work relating to the national dialogue has been carried out by volunteers who are committed to building a better South Africa. These are men and women who are ready to lead the way in ensuring that citizens claim their agency,” he said.
Concluding, he warned that the DA’s withdrawal isolates it from the people and urged the party to reflect on why it is alienating itself from a process aimed at shaping the country’s future.
First published by African Insider
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
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