Johannesburg - Political parties involved in the moonshot pact, such as the DA, IFP, FF Plus and ActionSA, have agreed to consider the recent proposals made by Deputy President Paul Mashatile during this weekend's national coalition dialogue, says DA leader John Steenhuisen.
He said the parties had agreed to discuss some of the matters during their upcoming national convention due to be held on August 16 and 17, 2023.
Steenhuisen said there were several points the parties would consider as they headed into their convention later this month ,following the coalition dialogue with Mashatile, even though there were concerns about some of the issues raised over the weekend.
This comes after the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and other parties walked out of the dialogue.
The dialogue wrapped up its business on Saturday, after discussions on a new framework to govern coalitions before the 2024 national elections.
Before walking out, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula said the plans to introduce a threshold were “nonsensical”.
Steenhuizen said some of the early concerns included the draft bill, which had been written and had become a bone of contention among other opposition political parties.
“There are a number of points arising from the discussions that we believe to be sensible approaches to improving the stability and performance of coalitions.
“However, there are also elements of the discussion that produce concerns around which we will also need to engage further.
“Not least amongst these concerns is the revelation on Saturday, from the deputy president of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Parks Tau, that a draft bill has already been produced by the department prior to the convening of the national dialogue.
“This group of parties will not legitimise a pre-conceived outcome, drafted by the ANC-aligned official for the last days of the ANC majority in Parliament to protect interests in future coalitions.
“For this reason, the parties in this group will consider the matters arising from the national dialogue and will place them on our agenda for further engagement at our national convention to be held on August 16 and 17, 2023,” Steenhuisen said.
The Star