Johnathan Paoli
In a statement made on Thursday, ActionSA talking on behalf of members of the Moonshot Pact have agreed upon the decision to appoint academic and mediator William Gumede as the Chair of the National Convention that is planned to take place on the 16th and 17th of August at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park.
“In considering Professor Gumede’s significant contributions to South Africa and various democracies around the world, it is evident that there is no South African who is better placed to guide our multi-party process,” the party said.
William Gumede is an Associate Professor, School of Governance & former Convener, Political Economy, at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Founder of the Democracy Works Foundation.
For the Pact conversation, Professor Gumede will be managing the process together with a specialist team of technical advisors, including Nerine Kahn (former CEO of the CCMA), Professor Uwe Jun (director of the Trier Institute for Democracy and Party Research in Germany); and Zamayirha Peter (an experienced journalist from City Press).
Gumede has already initiated weekly meetings of the members in order to enable engagement around the agenda for the Convention and to build greater consensus ahead of the Convention. In addition, the statement emphasised the potential benefits these engagements would receive from the experience and wisdom that Professor Gumede and his team have brought to the table.
“This multi-party grouping of parties is committed to presenting South Africans with a compelling alternative vision and direction for our country. This agreement must lay the foundation for a new multi-party government in 2024 that can start the work of moving our country forward again,” the statement concluded.
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