The Multi-Party Charter for South Africa — a pre-election agreement between several political parties in South Africa that aims to present a united front against the challenges facing the nation — are in Germany on a week-long study tour.
The group are participating in a dialogue programme focussed on strengthening coalition building and promoting party cooperation.
The study tour includes attending workshops on various matters and understanding how Germany manages coalition negotiations and agreements.
Leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen, ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa joined by others, including Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane are on the tour.
They are expected to return to South Africa on October 14.
While Maimane and BOSA are not part of the Multi-Party Charter, he said on his social media account on X, that he believed it was important to engage with multiple opposition party leaders when it comes to matters of South African interest “and this trip provided an opportunity for such discussions”.
I am currently in Germany attending workshops on various matters with other South African political party leaders.
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) October 10, 2023
A key part of my research area is understanding how Germany manages coalition negotiations and agreements.
The future of South Africa will require leaders who… pic.twitter.com/6PHNP2suJP
“The future of South Africa will require leaders who have an increased knowledge pool around multiple areas of governance and this trip has contributed to that gain of information,” Maimane said.
He also thanked the Konrad Adenauer Foundation for facilitating this project.
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation is a German political party foundation associated with but independent of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union. The Foundation has previously made donations to ActionSA for its election programmes, as revealed by the Independent Electoral Commission.
The Friedrich Naumann Foundation is another German group with links with the opposition Democratic Alliance as it often donates large sums of money to the party for its campaign.