IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa calls for a cost-effective National Dialogue
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa says the upcoming National Dialogue must not be a costly talk shop, but rather a serious, inclusive, and solution-driven process to address South Africa's long-standing social, political, and economic challenges.
Speaking in his capacity as part of the cabinet preparatory team for the Dialogue, Hlabisa expressed concern over the excessive budget allocated for the process and called for a comprehensive review of its costs.
The IFP views the National Dialogue, set to take place on August 15, 2025, as a continuation of the CODESA talks that ushered in political freedom in 1994 but left many key issues unresolved.
'We are opposed to the excessive cost in relation to the National Dialogue,' said Hlabisa. 'It must not be done at an exorbitant price.'
He specifically raised alarm over the reported R700 million earmarked for the Dialogue, calling it unjustifiable in a country grappling with deep poverty and inequality.
'In our meeting, we expressed our disquiet in terms of the figure that was mentioned,' Hlabisa said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
The DA is failing dismally
Every passing week brings a new reversal for the DA. Party leader John Steenhuisen has misjudged every single power play made by the ANC. The DA performed much better as the official opposition than it did in its self-appointed role as the party that would galvanise the government of national unity (GNU). The same is true of its leader, John Steenhuisen. Its ministers have executed their duties with a zeal that puts their ANC counterparts to shame. But its larger strategy has fallen flat. The DA believed this link-up for the greater good with its former foe was a prerequisite for achieving the economic lift-off that would drag in its slipstream a fleet of benefits, such as revitalised institutions. It is self-evident that nothing like that has happened. ALSO READ: Steenhuisen has made a bad situation worse with tactical blunders Instead, the DA has been house-trained by the ANC. It barks furiously and still strains at the leash on occasion, but it will sit up and beg on President Cyril Ramaphosa's command. While I don't share the disdain of many journalists for Steenhuisen, some of the criticism is deserved. As DA leader, he has misjudged every single power play made by the ANC, from accepting a poor partnership deal at the outset to being goaded into making meaningless threats that he has been forced to back off from. Every passing week brings a new reversal for the DA. This week, its support ensured that the Appropriation Bill for all government departments was passed at its first reading. It's about as complete a climbdown as can be imagined for a party that had threatened to block the Bill. The plan had been that this would be the DA riposte to Ramaphosa's sudden firing of the DA's Andrew Whitfield, Steenhuisen had been incandescent. 'If this situation is not corrected, it will go down as the greatest political mistake in modern SA history,' he warned parliament. On the face of it, it was a brilliantly simple move. The DA would counter the ANC by singling out only departments headed by ministers implicated in corruption. ALSO READ: Steenhuisen warned of 'insubordination' over national dialogue stance Unless Ramaphosa sacked those ministers within 48 hours, the DA would join the uMkhonto weSizwe party and the department of economic development in voting down their departmental budgets, thus stymying the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The DA, said Steenhuisen, would vote against the departmental budgets of Nobuhle Nkabane (higher education), Thembi Simelane (human settlements) and 'corruption-accused ANC ministers'. The DA would also withdraw from the National Dialogue, no doubt the DA was chortling at its genius. At least three 'compromised' ANC politicians would bite the dust and the DA would be perceived to be guardians of governmental integrity. It didn't work out quite like that. Ramaphosa did indeed fire Nkabane, but it had more to do with ANC self-interest than the DA ultimatum. She was already fatally politically wounded and facing cross-party, including ANC, sanctions from the parliamentary ethics committee. ALSO READ: 'Long overdue' – Opposition parties welcome Nkabane's removal And in a real up-yours, Ramaphosa didn't fire any of the other DA-named ministers. This turned out to be just another dismally misjudged power play by Steenhuisen. But Steenhuisen has hinted that he has one card to play: proposing a motion of no confidence. This would not mean a general election – constitutionally, the earliest this could happen is in 2027 – but if it succeeded, Ramaphosa would have to resign. In that kind of scramble, because the ANC is so deeply divided, the DA could, at last, influence the direction of the state by choosing the person at the top, rather than merely lending the party their votes. It's time for the DA to etch a steely red line. READ NEXT: 'Right-wing nexus': Presidency cautions South Africans against the DA
Daily Maverick
11 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
National Dialogue will be meaningless without honest leaders, warns Mbeki
The National Dialogue, which will be held in three weeks, aims to foster national unity and develop shared solutions to South Africa's pressing challenges. As South Africa prepares for the National Dialogue, with an estimated price tag of R700-million, former President Thabo Mbeki warned that without capable leadership, the process risked being meaningless. 'What will come out of that National Dialogue will need honest, capable hands with integrity to implement what people have said,' said Mbeki. He was giving a keynote address at UDM leader Bantu Holomisa's 70th birthday celebration in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Saturday night. In recent years, Mbeki has been critical of the ANC, speaking about what he refers to as a decline in ethical leadership and the growing problem of corruption in the party. On Saturday, however, he toned the criticism down, saying that although he had views about ANC leaders, he was not free to mention them by name. He admitted that he, too, was part of the broader problem and anticipated that this would come up during the dialogue. 'They [South Africans] will say uncomfortable truths about us. 'You were President, and look what a mess you have created in the country.' And this is therefore what needs to be done in order to respect the people and implement what they have discussed: you need a particular kind of leader. I am not free to talk about our leaders by name.' The National Dialogue aims to foster national unity and develop shared solutions to South Africa's pressing challenges, including failing public services, high unemployment, rising crime, corruption, food inflation and economic stagnation. It starts with a National Convention on 15 August, which will set the agenda for the broader dialogue. The dialogue has been widely criticised by political parties and ordinary citizens, some of whom have argued that these are not just topics for debate but their daily realities. They want a concrete plan to lead the country out of crisis. One of the the parties that has rejected the National Dialogue is the EFF. Addressing President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament two weeks ago, the party's Nontando Nolutshungu said it was not the people of South Africa who had wrecked state-owned enterprises, failed to create jobs and allowed drugs to destroy young people. She pointed to the ANC's performance in the 2024 elections. 'The people have spoken, and you don't need R700-million to repeat the message they gave you at the ballots in 2024,' said Nolutshungu. The uMkhonto Wesizwe party's John Hlophe said the ANC sought to use the National Dialogue as part of its election campaign ahead of the 2026 local government polls. 'Let me tell the people of South Africa what it really is: it is not a dialogue for them, it is an ANC election campaign funded by taxpayers' money. 'Mr Ramaphosa, you lead a broken ANC: a party with the lowest membership in decades, a party that has lost key metros, a party that has become a mere shadow of its once proud self. Branches are non-existent, communities are leaderless, and the people have lost faith,' said Hlophe. Last month, the leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, announced that his party had withdrawn its support for the National Dialogue, citing Ramaphosa's failure to act against officials accused of corruption, some of whom were members of the Cabinet. 'It is clear that this dialogue will be nothing more than a waste of time and money to distract from the ANC's failures. This explains why President Ramaphosa and the ANC are so obsessed with it,' said Steenhuisen. 'It is an electioneering ploy, at taxpayer expense, to gloss over the serious crises that the ANC has plunged South Africa into. The dialogue also has no constitutional standing whatsoever to take or impose decisions.' Responding to the criticism, Ramaphosa said people must ask themselves: 'Do we want to break or do we want to rebuild?' The National Dialogue will be led by the Eminent Persons Group, made up of 31 prominent South Africans, including business leaders, former MPs, academics, athletes, actors, and traditional and spiritual leaders. Some of those in the group are Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, Miss South Africa 2024 Mia le Roux, the leader of the Zion Christian Church, Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane, and the award-winning actor John Kani. Mbeki wants the dialogue to be a 'genuine' one. 'Let the people get together and say this is the South Africa we want,' he said. DM
TimesLIVE
17 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Auditor-general demands action from KZN Cogta MEC in troubled uMkhanyakude municipality
Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke has instructed KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi to intervene in the trouble-torn uMkhanyakude district municipality. Buthelezi, an IFP deployee in the provincial legislature, and ANC-led uMkhanyakude officials are at loggerheads over the provincial cabinet's decision to place the council under administration. uMkhanyakude officials are resisting the decision, saying it is politically motivated. They have since taken Buthelezi to court over the matter. Earlier this month, Buthelezi was forced to announce that the municipality had been placed under administration at the entrance of the council offices after he was denied entry. On Sunday, Buthelezi said he had received formal correspondence from Maluleke instructing him to intervene in uMkhanyakude. 'The auditor-general has requested that I intervene in the uMkhanyakude district municipality due to the municipality's consistent failure to address material findings. These findings stem from the municipality's inability to implement a credit and debt collection policy, as required by section 62(1)(f) (ii) of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA),' said Buthelezi. A material irregularity is defined in the Public Audit Act (PAA), as 'any noncompliance with, or contravention of, legislation, fraud, theft or a breach of a fiduciary duty identified during an audit performed under this act that resulted in or is likely to result in a material financial loss, the misuse or loss of a material public resource or substantial harm to a public sector institution or the public'. In the correspondence, Maluleke highlighted that 'The failure of the municipality to implement the municipality's credit and debt collection policy for a number of years and to take reasonable steps to recover outstanding debt from consumers is likely to result in a material financial loss for the municipality'. The AG further stated that: 'The failure of the accounting officer to take appropriate actions to address the material irregularity led to a decision by the AGSA's material irregularity committee, duly delegated, to approve reporting in the audit report of the municipality on the material irregularity with recommendations, as provided for in section 20(4) of the PAA, read with regulation 4(3) of the MI regulations on the steps the accounting officer should take to address the material irregularity within a stipulated period in the audit report.' Buthelezi said he was aware of the grave nature of the issues raised by Maluleke, which were emphasised during a meeting with the AG on July 23. He said he was committed to acting in the interest of the residents of the uMkhanyakude district. 'These residents bear the brunt of failed service delivery due to a lack of governance, financial, and consequence management measures within the district,' he said, adding that the AG has requested a formal report from him by August 15.
