Former President Thabo Mbeki has sharply criticised Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen over the party’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming National Dialogue, calling the move “misplaced” and “very strange indeed”.

In an open letter addressed to the DA leader, Mbeki accused the party of undermining an inclusive, citizen-led initiative that intends to create a new national consensus. He argued that the DA’s continued participation in the Government of National Unity (GNU), while refusing to engage in dialogue, meant to shape the country’s political future, represented a contradictory and ill-considered stance.

The DA made the decision to withdraw from the National Dialogue following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to remove DA Deputy Minister Andrew Whitfield from his position.

The DA gave Ramaphosa an ultimatum, demanding that he fire Cabinet Ministers embroiled in corruption scandals, saying his failure to do so would result in grave consequences for South Africa.

This called into question the stability of the GNU, but the DA has since asserted that it will stay in the governing coalition.

“I consider the decision of the DA not to participate in the National Dialogue as both misplaced and very strange indeed, as well as even being against its own very direct interests,” Mbeki wrote.

The National Dialogue, scheduled to take place on August 15, is the culmination of nearly a decade of planning by civil society and political foundations. Initiated in 2016 by a partnership among the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, the FW de Klerk Foundation, the Helen Suzman Foundation, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, and the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation, the process aims to address deep-rooted national challenges through broad-based consensus.

Mbeki, who has served as one of the key conveners of the process, stated that the DA’s decision to abstain from the process was not only misguided but also disrespected the South African public.

“And as you know, Ms Helen Zille’s, 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, Ms Helen 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!” Mbeki said.

Anticipating the DA’s criticism about government involvement, Mbeki clarified to Steenhuisen that the Dialogue would be funded through the national budget, with the process firmly rooted in civil society.

He said the Dialogue would have nothing to do with what the DA sees as an ANC election campaign or an ANC-run dialogue.

Mbeki warned that by absenting itself from the Dialogue, the DA risked marginalising its own supporters and missing a vital opportunity to shape South Africa’s future.

He urged Steenhuisen to reconsider the boycott and to instead “engage honestly and openly” in a national effort to rebuild trust, tackle inequality and strengthen constitutional democracy.

“As I have said, I have no doubt that the DA acts against its own direct interests when it decides to isolate itself from this sovereign authority when the latter decides to engage in a National Dialogue to determine our country’s future,” Mbeki said.