Phuti Mosomane
THE political parties involved in negotiating a pre-election agreement ahead of the 2024 National General Elections have claimed solid progress on the first day of talks on Wednesday.
Political Parties which were part of the convention include DA, IFP, FF Plus, ActionSA, Isanco, United Independent Movement (UIM) and Spectrum National Party (SNP).
Chaired by an independent Chairperson William Gumede, the political parties met in Kempton Park in Gauteng. Gumede said the alliance has agreed on a name: “The Multi Party Charter for South Africa”.
Gumede further said the leaders have also agreed on a shared vision and that deliberations have been robust yet constructive, adding that the parties have agreed on a shared vision for South Africa which will be: “A new government to build a just, inclusive and prosperous South Africa based on opportunity, freedom and security for all its citizens”..
He said the parties have agreed that the priorities of this new coalition government will be:
1. Growing the economy and creating jobs.
2. Ending load shedding and achieving energy security.
3. Achieving law and order that combats crime, corruption and drugs.
4. Ensuring quality education that delivers opportunities for all.
5. Delivering basic services to all through high quality infrastructure.
6. Building a professional public service that delivers to all and ending cadre deployment.
7. Ensuring quality healthcare for all within a caring healthcare system.
8. Building a social relief framework for South African households living in poverty.
Central to achieving the vision and priorities of the new government, he said, is the need to ensure that governance is underpinned by an ethos that seeks to promote South Africa’s long-term best interests, Gumede said.
The parties have agreed that the new coalition government will govern in accordance with the Shared Governing Principles, which are a commitment to:
1. The South African Constitution, the rule of law, and equality before the law.
2. Decentralising power to the lowest effective level of government.
3. Accountable, transparent government with zero tolerance for corruption.
4. Capable government that spends public money efficiently to deliver quality services to all.
5. A caring government that puts people first and prioritises the poor.
6. An open market economy.
7. Policies guided by evidence that they produce positive results for society.
8. Redress our unjust past by promoting non racialism and unity in our diversity.
“We have furthermore resolved to extend invitations to all political parties in South Africa that subscribe to our vision, priorities of government, shared governing principles and the prerequisite to unseat the ANC and keep the EFF out,” he said.
He added that all political parties that subscribe and act according to these principles are requested to come forward and engage in future talks to join the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa.
Leader of the Freedom Front Plus Pieter Groenewald said the only way to save South Africa is to “get rid of the ANC, there is no other way.”
Groenewald said 2024 is a crucial moment for South Africa’s democracy however it’s not the last. “The country is broken in terms of crime, economy and service delivery” he said, warning that it’s common knowledge that no opposition party will gather enough votes next year to obtain a majority.
“The Moonshot Pact coalition is the best chance for a new government in the country,” he added.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said the party is attending the discussions because it wants to work in finding much needed change for South Africa.
Hlabisa said they don’t hate the ANC but hate what the liberation party has done to the country.
“People who are fed up with the direction of the country should stand up and register to vote,” Hlabisa said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said what is happening today will ultimately impact all South Africans.
Instead of trying to ensure that other political parties are part of the group, Steenhuisen said there were 14-million eligible South Africans who did not vote in the previous election and should be the target.
“The Moonshot Pact convention is not about politics, it’s about the people of South Africa”.
Steenhuisen said the convention needs to speak to the unemployed and provide solutions to crime and load shedding,” he said.
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