Cape Town – Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has strongly rejected former president Thabo Mbeki’s criticism of the party’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming National Dialogue.
Mbeki, in a strongly worded open letter, called the DA’s withdrawal “misplaced” and against the party’s interests.
He called Steenhuisen and DA federal chair Helen Zille “arrogant” and accused them of showing contempt for the South African public.
Mbeki argued that the DA’s rejection of the dialogue, which they claim is an ANC election strategy, contradicts their earlier commitment to an inclusive process outlined in the GNU agreement.
“And as you know, Zille, and therefore presumably the DA’s view, is that the absence of the latter from the ‘Parliament of the People’ will make the Parliament ‘a sham’ and ‘a hollow exercise’. It is very good that, at last, Zille has openly expressed her eminently arrogant and contemptuous view of the masses of the people, that these cannot think and plan their future correctly, without the DA.
An Open Letter from President Thabo Mbeki, the Patron of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, addressed to DA leader John Steenhuisen—dated 3 July 2025—in which he responds to the DA’s withdrawal from the National Dialogue pic.twitter.com/LCyrn0fEvp
— Thabo Mbeki Foundation (@TMFoundation_) July 3, 2025
“That, presumably, is also the view of the federal leader of the DA who must have felt very proud when he announced that effective immediately, the DA will therefore ‘have no further part in this process. We will also actively mobilise against it.’ I hope that in time the DA will explain to the people why it signed up to the commitment in the statement of intent of the parties in the GNU that parties commit to an all-inclusive national dialogue process, whereas, as Zille said, she had been very opposed to it from the start.”
He defended the dialogue’s legitimacy, clarifying that it was not ANC-led but initiated by the National Foundations Dialogue Initiative, which includes several prominent foundations.
In response, Steenhuisen dismissed the dialogue as an “expensive talk shop” that won’t benefit ordinary South Africans and accused the ANC of double standards, citing the firing of DA deputy minister Andrew Whitfield for unauthorised travel.
Good morning, South Africa. President Mbeki’s open letter to me confirms that the National Dialogue is a creature of the ANC that has been sprung upon the public with the disingenuous claim that it is an ‘inclusive’ process. Read my full response below. pic.twitter.com/UnM5mOiBZP
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) July 5, 2025
“You sought my indulgence and now I must ask that you commit time for me to explain the DA’s decision to stay away from yet another enormously expensive process that will predictably involve a lot of talking, but do nothing to advance open, transparent and corruption-free governance that South Africans so desperately desire,” Steenhuisen said.
He also questioned the timing and motivation behind the dialogue, suggesting it was a political move by the ANC following its poor 2024 election performance.
Steenhuisen argued that the dialogue was planned primarily by Mbeki and the ANC, without proper consultation with other parties, undermining its claim of being an inclusive process.
“The idea of the National Dialogue has been strategised and planned for some time between you and the ANC, with no similar courtesy extended to any other political party in the GNU. This confirms that this National Dialogue is a creature of the ANC that has been sprung upon the public with the disingenuous claim it is an ‘inclusive’ process.”
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: X/@jsteenhuisen
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu