South Africa Needs Real Solutions to the Chaos

6 December 2019

Today, I have launched The People’s Dialogue, a platform to engage South Africans from all walks of life about how we can build a South Africa that we can all be proud of.

I made this decision after I resigned from the DA, and consequently the Mayoralty of Johannesburg.

Like many South Africans, I have lost faith in our political system. Nothing could demonstrate this more than the events that have taken place over the past 48 hours across major Metros in South Africa.

Through all of this, I have come to the view that political parties and politicians operate with self-interest as their primary driver of decision making, and not in the interest of ordinary South Africans.

Despite this, in my time as the Mayor of Johannesburg, I have been fortunate to meet thousands of South Africans from all backgrounds. They have confirmed my deep-seated belief that our Country is loaded with potential. We are a proud people and desire to live in a Country that works, but we are held back from that possibility by our political system.

While we face many challenges as a nation, I believe that we are capable of finding innovative solutions to these, driven by the countless talented individuals who share my desire to save our Country.

This is why I have launched The People’s Dialogue, because ordinary South Africans need to engage in a conversation about the future of our Country. The launch video can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/0Ax19y0aylo

Going forward, I will begin to engage on my Twitter and Facebook pages, and on a micro website at www.thepeoplesdialogue.org.za

While we will start slowly over the month of December, it will pick up speed in January 2020 when we begin to engage on the solutions to our biggest challenges. Solutions put forward by ordinary South Africans.

I will only have one rule in leading this discussion – as South Africans we must engage one another with respect for our great diversity of views and solutions.

I am calling on all South Africans to engage in this discussion about the future of our Country. The People’s Dialogue must return the belief and hope for a better future, one shaped by its people.

We can no longer leave our future, as a people, to our political system. We have to be animated by a love of our Country and by a belief that we can fix South Africa.

Statement issued by Herman Mashaba, Founder, The People’s Dialogue, 6 December 2019