National Dialogue: Archbishop Makgoba calls of legacy foundations to reconsider withdrawal
Last week, foundations including Thabo Mbeki, FW de Klerk, Steve Biko, Desmond and Leah Tutu pulled out of the occasion over clashes with the presidency.
FILE: Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. Picture: Supplied/Wits Alumi on Flickr
JOHANNESBURG - Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has called on the legacy foundations to reconsider the decision to pull out of the prepatory team for the upcoming national convention.
Last week, foundations including Thabo Mbeki, FW de Klerk, Steve Biko, Desmond and Leah Tutu pulled out of the occasion over clashes with the presidency.
They cited a lack of funding and insufficient time to prepare for the first national convention set to take place at the end of the week.
The archbishop again endorsed the National Dialogue at the weekend while delivering a sermon at the St Albans Cathedral in Pretoria.
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"I appeal to everyone on all sides to take a step back, to reconsider their positions, and hold urgent consultations to ensure we can move forward together on the basis of the principles outlined."
He said the "desperately needed" National Dialogue cannot be allowed to fail.
"Our country, and especially the poor and the marginalised, desperately need an initiative such as this, and we cannot afford to let it fail. To adapt the words of Desmond Tutu, the consequences could be too ghastly to contemplate."