LISTEN | Goodbye 'moonshot pact', hello 'multiparty charter for South Africa'

The opposition political parties seeking to topple the governing ANC in next year's elections have decided on their coalition talks branding, dumping the “moonshot pact” for a “multiparty charter for South Africa”.

The initial “moonshot pact” name was announced by DA leader John Steenhuisen at its federal congress in April this year after informal talks among several party leaders and was not well received as some believed it was detached from the context of the country.

Others accused Steenhuisen of “jumping the gun” and the grouping agreed there had to be an overhaul on the branding and identity of the project.

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Presiding chairperson Prof William Gumede said the name was a bone of contention as many of the parties — which include the IFP, FF Plus, ActionSA, Spectrum National Party, United Independent Movement and Independent South African National Civics Organisation — wanted a name they could all identify with.

“The group has settled on a name and it's not going to the moon, it's going somewhere else. It will be called the multiparty charter for South Africa. 

“The name was a bone of contention. It was a bit of an obstacle to get to an agreement, but a collective decision needed to be taken and consensus was reached. After a robust discussion the grouping settled on this name,” he said.

Gumede was briefing the media on the outcomes of the convention's first closed plenary session. He announced the grouping had also settled on a collective vision for their project to unseat the ANC at the polls in 2024.

“Negotiations such as this are robust. It's going well. I think there have been some fruits from the conversation and a breakthrough about its branding,” he said.

The agreement on the vision, which Gumede dubbed a catalytic progress, was a result of collaboration.

“We have managed to cobble together a joint vision from the parties' submissions — which is a big victory for the group.”

Discussions would continue and he was hopeful for a positive outcome.

“Discussions are ongoing and they remain robust, which is the nature of negotiations at this level. They have been frank and open and progress is being made.”

Gumede said despite receiving multiple proposals from stakeholders and interested parties, they have not yet had time to sift through the submissions because of their volume.

“The group received quite a number of submissions which were very diverse, and it is likely they will need time to process them before they can come back to discuss them,” he said.

Some issues could not be resolved in the first round of negotiations and would be deliberated on further in plenary sessions.

“For example, there are many other opposition parties outside the process and this core group needs to decide how to engage many of those parties.

“Now that they've got a vision, it makes it easier for them and gives them space to engage and to have a conversation with some of the parties outside — which is important progress.”

The convention broke for lunch on Wednesday and is expected to resume deliberations later.

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