Owing to “serious and unresolved” questions, particularly around the budget of the National Dialogue, ActionSA has decided it will not send a formal delegation to precursor gathering the National Convention on Friday.

Instead, the party’s Dr Kgosi Letlape and Lerato Ngobeni will attend as an observation committee.

The National Convention kicks off on August 15 and 16 at the ZK Matthews Hall, at Unisa, in Pretoria, and marks the beginning of the National Dialogue process, which will roll out over the next few months across the country in the form of public dialogues in different communities and sectors.

ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip announced on Wednesday that the party was unconvinced that any of the concerns raised by key stakeholders, organisers and the broader public had been addressed.

Last week, seven legacy foundations withdrew from the National Dialogue Preparatory Task Team, calling for a postponement of the National Dialogue to allow for adequate preparation, coherence and participatory integrity, citing violations of the Dialogue’s core principles.

On Tuesday, the Solidarity Movement and its affiliates also announced their withdrawal, attributing the decision to its belief that the National Dialogue had been “hijacked” by the African National Congress.

Trollip noted an insistence on continuing with the undertaking despite serious, unresolved questions, specifically on the budget appropriation, which he said no parliamentary committee had been briefed on.

On Monday, National Convention organising committee chairperson Boichoko Ditlhake led a media briefing to present a public update on the Convention and Dialogue, following the controversy around the legacy foundations' withdrawals last week.

He acknowledged the withdrawals but asserted that the process needed to swiftly continue.

Trollip said Letlape and Ngobeni’s observations would culminate in an assessment of whether the process served as a meaningful platform for reform.

“…or, as the situation suggests, is merely an electioneering exercise that misappropriates public funds under the guise of public participation while sidestepping the real concerns and reforms needed to change South Africa,” he said.

ActionSA’s representatives will travel, be accommodated and catered for at their own personal cost, he assured.