ALLOW me the opportunity to comment on the call for a “national dialogue” by, among others, the Steve Biko Foundation, the Thabo Mbeki and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, which is 30 years too late.
When the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) took the sham Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process to the Constitutional Court, only to have its legal challenge shot down, it showed how important it was for a civilian engagement process at the time.
In the intervening 30 years, it has been a dialogue of the deaf interjected by a cacophony of corruption, crime and service delivery – and above-all, the failure to govern.
If you’re interested, read, or better still study, the judgment by Ismail Mohamed, deputy president at the time, to appreciate how urgent it was for…