As political parties prepare to sit for the “historic” Muti-Party National Convention on Wednesday and Thursday, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said on Monday that the event is a major milestone, and an opportunity that should not be wasted.

He stressed that the convention should not be just an anti-African National Congress (ANC) project, but that it must be a pro-South African project.

Steenhuisen assured citizens that his party would continue to act in good faith and in the spirit of cooperation and he stressed his hope that political parties would leave the convention with an agreement on how parties could work together to fix the problems plaguing the country.

The Independent South African National Civic Organisation (Isanco) became the seventh party that will attend the Convention. Isanco broke away from the ANC alliance in 2021 owing to its failure to address corruption.

The DA, Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front Plus, ActionSA, United Independent Movement and the Spectrum National Party will be attending the Convention.

Steenhuisen said leaders must ensure that the Convention inaugurates a new Pact government in 2024 that will rescue South Africa.

The Convention will be independently chaired by the respected Professor William Gumede.

“While the National Convention represents a major milestone, it is also an opportunity we dare not squander. The Moonshot Pact has captured the public imagination like no other opposition project has ever done in the history of our democracy. We dare not mess it up now,” he said.

He noted that parties involved in this process had already made some progress towards a minimum joint programme of action.

Last week the Pact reached out to civil society organisations, inviting them to provide inputs on how political parties could make a success out of the Convention.

Steenhuisen noted that if the political parties involved in the Convention emerged with an agreement on Thursday, the Pact hoped to engage civil society with an eye to holding a subsequent joint Summit between the Pact and civil society organisations.