By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former president and patron of TMF, H.E Thabo Mbeki has outlined the genesis and significance of the idea of a National Dialogue in South Africa.
Mbeki was speaking at the Nedlac Labour School, to address the imperative of an inclusive and truly citizen-led National Dialogue.
The School was hosted by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) at Kievits Kroon in Pretoria East, Gauteng.
Mbeki says the National Dialogue presents an opportunity for the nation to come together, in all its rich diversity, in a manner unprecedented since 1994, to reflect on the journey traversed since the democratic breakthrough, and most importantly, to shape its future.
He took delegates at the Labour School into detailed confidence regarding the process that unfolded immediately after he announced the need for a National Dialogue.
The former president briefed the School on the extensive work undertaken by the Legacy Foundations in preparation for the first Convention of the National Dialogue, as well as their subsequent decision to withdraw from the Convention held at the University of South Africa (UNISA) on 15th of August 2025.
Mbeki stressed the importance of Organised Labour actively participating in the National Dialogue, cautioning that failure to do so may allow government and business to continue shaping the future of South Africa without adequate labour involvement.
He pointed to the current process of social compacting as indicative of this trend, noting its apparent predominance by government and business, with limited participation from other sectors of society.
He reiterated the fact that people themselves are the sovereign and that it is only their collective voice that will determine the South Africa they want and South Africa they do not want. And that no political establishment worthy of its salt can afford to ignore people’s collective voice.
Mbeki finally underscored the significance of an inclusive and truly citizen-led National Dialogue as a vital platform through which South Africans, in their diversity, will have the opportunity to exercise their sovereign authority in addressing the myriad political, socio-economic and security challenges that define their lived realities.