Johannesburg - Three former heads of state have called on South Africans to stand up and participate in a national dialogue on the current state of the country and in seeking solutions to some of South Africa's challenges.
Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and FW De Klerk's foundations along with five others launched the National Foundation Dialogue Initiative in Johannesburg on Friday, with all three leaders addressing guests on the project and their hopes for what it would achieve.
"South Africa is in the grip of the most serious challenges that have confronted it since the establishment of our non-racial constitutional democracy 23 years ago," said De Klerk.
His views were shared by Mbeki who said issues over the past three years confirmed the urgency of the dialogue which he insisted would give a voice to the people.
The second president of a democratic SA said he supported the initiative on that basis, telling those in the room that the independent voice of ordinary people were excluded from dialogue and only the elite were heard.
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