MKP member of parliament Lucky Montana has condemned the national dialogue as a futile exercise that will achieve nothing, adding that this is the same reason the DA quit.
Montana believes the interests of the DA and its constituency, the white ruling class, are already fully protected through the government of national unity (GNU) arrangement with the ANC.
Therefore, Montana went on, for the DA to participate in the national dialogue would be tantamount to someone shooting themselves in the foot.
According to Montana, the GNU is a platform for control for the DA and its constituency fronting with the ANC.
In his view, the white ruling class has been hogging the economic power unabated since the dawn of democracy.
But through the inclusion of the DA into the GNU, he went on, they have extended their stronghold to include the state.
power.
“The DA will never leave the GNU. And the DA will not attend the national dialogue. So, if there’s one party that understands itself, well, the other one is MK, but if there’s one party that understands itself, it’s the DA, not because it represents South Africans or their interests, but because it knows that a small section of the white ruling elite has power,” said Montana.
“The GNU have effectively extended their power from the economic sphere into affairs of the state.
“And it’s like in football, where everything has been done for you; your job is just a tap-in. The point is, the DA – why would they go to a mass meeting of a so-called national dialogue?
“They have the power; they are outside before it starts because the national dialogue is a deception of our own people.
“What do you say? Let’s talk about the vision we’re talking about. It’s not [a] referendum about the fundamental issues affecting our society, about how we distribute national income to benefit every South African. How do we distribute wealth and income?” he asked.
“One certain thing is that those with economic power … are not going to [go] there (to the national dialogue) and subject the power they hold to scrutiny and take decisions that affect that.
“So, the reason why the DA are not there is because the interests they champion are holding power.”
Montana said these were the reasons the DA prefers the GNU, where its interests are
secured, rather than a national dialogue, which might take an unexpected turn.
It was for the same reasons that the MKP was not interested in joining the GNU, one strategic political platform he insists the DA will never leave, no matter how many differences it has with the ANC.
In any case, Montana was adamant; the DA loses nothing by being in the GNU, which only serves to cement its interests in the state and the economy.
Meanwhile, it was the ANC that was losing legitimacy and identity by its continued support, wittingly or unwittingly, of the interests of the white ruling class through their coalition government with the DA.
“The GNU was a way for President [Cyril] Ramaphosa and the ANC to remain in government, but they are buttressed by the DA.
“And let me tell you, I’ve listened to the Minister of Public Works, Dean McPherson. Have you heard him speaking? When he stands up in parliament, every time he speaks, it is about selling something.
“I even ask ANC comrades if this is their policy. ‘Is that the ANC’s position?’ They cannot answer; they look at the ground. So, I think the ANC is highly compromised.
“Currently, I mean, you have the ANC sustained by the DA. So, the DA effectively controls policy in the ANC.
“I don’t trust what the DA issued on the thing (internal research). But one of the things it shows is that the ANC is on a downward spiral, and I add that this is because the ANC is not prepared to confront the central issue, which is, what is the identity of the ANC, and who does it serve?”
Montana said the ANC, by going into bed with the DA, had committed the greatest betrayal to the national democratic revolution, an act the MKP will never endorse by joining the GNU.
“I mean, [recently] you had Mmusi Maimane saying he will not join the GNU if MK and EFF are part of it.
“The big question is, does MK want to join the GNU? And I know that if I understand the discussions we had within the party, MK is not interested.
“We’ll never join any government of national unity because of the policy basis of this government. The MK will never be part of a betrayal.
“That is why president Zuma said, ‘instead of joining all these things, we’d rather win elections and get the support of all with a very clear mandate on what we want to do’.”
