President Nelson Mandela (L) receives five volumes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final report from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, in Pretoria on October 29, 1998. Drawing lessons from the failures of the TRC, the proposed National Dialogue should be honest, sincere, inclusive, thorough, and realistic to be impactful, says the writer.

Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu

THE National Dialogue has been a topical issue before the May 2024 general election.

It was first proposed by UDM’s General Bantu Holomisa. However, during that time the issue was not taken seriously.

Later, former President Thabo Mbeki made a similar call. The euphoria and ecstasy created the impression that this issue would be acted upon immediately after the May 2024 general election.

Noticeably, since assuming office, the multiparty coalition government has been talking about this matter, yet the process has not taken off the ground. This raises the question if this will be another unfulfilled promise and a deferred dream.

Importantly, the delay raises another question whether the multiparty coalition government is the same as or different from the ANC government which ran the country for the first six administrations between 1994 and 2024.

The danger that the country faces is to have a National Dialogue which will be like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The latter was meant to reconcile the nation and play a role in the social cohesion project.

Failure by many perpetrators to divulge the truth, and lack of implementation of the recommendations of the TRC resulted in the families of many victims labelling it as a ‘waste’ of money and time.

It is for this reason that some of the families such as those of the Cradock Four (Mathew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto, and Sicelo Mhlauli) who perished at the hands of the security branch in 1985 have approached the court seeking justice.

Drawing lessons from the failures of the TRC, the proposed National Dialogue should be honest, sincere, inclusive, thorough, and realistic to be impactful.

To achieve these goals, it must be depoliticised. For example, this process must not be portrayed as an ANC project, but a national project. The fact that the idea is associated with Holomisa and Mbeki means that the process should not be credited to any individual political party.

Secondly, the current government is a coalition government. Politicians must desist from trying to project their political parties as the champions of this process.

Conversely, all political parties, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Church-based and community-based organisations (CBOs), traditional leadership, academic institutions, the private sector, and all South Africans must fully participate in this process.

Of critical importance will be for the terms of reference to be clear. The goals must be explicit. Above all, the National Dialogue must be geared towards addressing the many challenges that the country is confronted with. These include the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.

Recent developments where US President Donald Trump has meddled in the domestic affairs of South Africa and acted prematurely before giving himself time to understand what is happening in South Africa makes the need for the national dialogue even more urgent.

Reactions to the recently enacted Expropriation Act have demonstrated in vivid terms that South Africa is not a united country. There is no social cohesion. Racial differences remain intact. Group interests supersede national interests.

Organisations such as AfriForum and political parties like Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) deemed it necessary to seek support from the US instead of trying to raise their concerns within South Africa through the right channels.

Having listened to one side of the story, Trump made a reckless decision to invite Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans to relocate to the US with the promise of refugee status.

This announcement was wrong on many fronts.

Firstly, it undermined South Africa’s political sovereignty. Instead of allowing the South African government to handle its internal affairs, Trump made a unilateral and ill-informed decision to divide the country along racial and linguistic lines. This is the nemesis of social cohesion, nation building and reconciliation.

Secondly, Trump overlooked diplomatic channels which were available to him to reason with his South African counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa either through Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool who represents South Africa in the US, or through his Foreign Secretary, Marco Rubio.

Thirdly, Trump’s decision unwittingly confirmed white supremacy, which is a problem both in the US and in South Africa. When the black majority in South Africa were on the receiving end of the apartheid government’s oppressive laws, no such an offer was provided to them by the US. Even African Americans continue to fight for their existentialism in that country although they were born and bred there.

These broad issues give impetus to the call for the National Dialogue to begin sooner rather than later. However, it should not be a rushed decision. The process must be cogently thought through and meticulously executed.

Experience shows that the urban/rural divide has produced negative results for this country. Consultation generally happens in urban and peri-urban areas and takes place in community halls and such places. Many rural areas are left out, yet the policy decisions also affect them too.

Another concern is that in the age of technology, it is easy to say that people must make their submissions electronically.

What is being ignored is that many rural communities have no connectivity. Others lack money to buy data. In the absence of public libraries, these communities become onlookers as decisions are being taken on their behalf.

The proposed National Dialogue should not be delayed any further. The fact that the current coalition government is scheduled to be in place only until 2029 (if it survives for this long) means that any further delay in having this national dialogue might be an injustice to the people of this country.

When the National Dialogue happens, it must not be a rushed process. The intention must be genuine and realistic for it to have an impact. If the dialogue is a box-ticking exercise, it will be as ineffective as the TRC.

While it is true that the process of starting the national dialogue was already long overdue, recent developments involving President Trump and South African Afrikaans-speaking communities have demonstrated the urgency of this matter. We cannot afford to further delay it.

* Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The African.