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ActionSA is concerned that after fruitlessly spending over R1bn on the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, with nothing to show of it in terms of the arrests and successful prosecution of the high profile politicians implicated in aiding, abetting, and benefitting from the crimes linked to it, government is about launch another process that is reportedly going to cost at least another R1bn – currently budgeted at around R750m, but we know how these things go – and will no doubt be another burden on an already stretched fiscus.

Indications are that the so-called National Dialogue is already looking like a carefully choregraphed process to fool South Africans yet again.

In line with our recent calls for decisive changes in the National Prosecutions Authority, starting with the removal of the ineffective Advocate Shamila Batohi, what we should be seeing instead of another talk-shop is a raft of criminal prosecutions in line with the outcomes and recommendations of the Zondo Commission. It doesn’t make sense that all the people implicated in what were clearly treasonous crimes are still walking the streets of our country and the corridors of parliament as if they have no reason to be ashamed and to be afraid.

We’re also concerned that other than PR spin, nothing has come out of President Ramaphosa’s so-called “investment Conferences” of the past few years. All we have seen are media picture perfect announcements of claimed investor pledges amounting to hundreds of billions of rands with nothing pointing to such pledges leading to noticeable job creation and, specifically, the tackling the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and unemployment. No one seems to be asking how much has been spent on these conferences and what has been their return on public investment, other that fabulous media appearances for the president?

Furthermore, it is incredible that one day into the so-called Government of National Unity, with different parties pulling in different directions, no new policies have been introduced to tackle economic stagnation. The latest quarterly unemployment figures show that almost 300,000 people lost their jobs, which translates to some 5000 per day. As things stand, we’re sitting with some 8.23 million unemployed South Africans and a further 3.5 million having given up trying to find a job because of the dire outlook. Expected economic growth has been revised down on several occasions, from 1.3 down to 0.6%.

It is with these concerns in mind that, as ActionSA, we call for a stop to the proposed National Dialogue and, in the place of it, the development of robust economic policies and an investment in strengthening the criminal justice system, especially the NPA that has become a weak link under Advocate Shamila Batohi, to complete the unfinished business of the Zondo Commission. Until this is done convincingly, we cannot possibly start on a clean scale to talk about the South Africa we want to live in and must build together. Instead, we risk hosting another R1bn talk show with known state capture suspects and their private sector accomplices walking around its floors as if they are not at the centre of the troubles our country is in.

We will not allow this proposed National Dialogue to become a cover for further looting under the pretext of public engagement. If it goes ahead, we will follow the money. Every rand spent will be scrutinised. We will demand full transparency on how the funds are allocated, which service providers are appointed, and whether ordinary South Africans fully benefit, or whether this gets used as another Trojan Horse to benefit politically connected middlemen who have no value to add. We refuse to stand by and let South Africans be fooled again.

Issued by ActionSA President Herman Mashaba