President Mbeki argues that declining political trust reflects disappointment with failures to improve people’s lives. His challenge: examine why delivery failed before concluding that political parties themselves are the problem. @Unisaradio @Unisa @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

Interactive Session with the Patron | Dr Thabisile Mtshali, @MbekiSchool Postdoctoral Fellow. “Mr President, local governments are expected to deliver development and democracy at the grassroots. Yet in most African countries, they lack the authority, resources, institutional capacity and autonomy to do so, and many operate under weak financial management and unstable political arrangements. They are judged mainly by their ability to provide basic services, and they are not treated as platforms for creating jobs, building enterprises, local industrialisation, agricultural value chains and inclusive economic transformation. South Africa shows what this looks like in practice. Even the basics are failing. Only 39 of the country’s 257 municipalities achieved a clean audit, a sign of the weak financial management that erodes capacity, and poor water, electricity and sanitation services are a common experience for citizens. Coalition politics has produced uneven results, and where agreements are unstable, disputes over budgets, seats and leadership have weakened service delivery and public trust. Municipalities that struggle to deliver the basics cannot become engines of jobs, enterprises and local economic transformation, and so local development stagnates. My question to you, Mr President: What is the place of audit and coalitions in moving municipalities beyond basic services to become platforms for jobs and local economic growth?” Dr Thabisile Mtshali @Unisaradio @Unisa @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

Interactive Session with the Patron | Dr Thabang Manyike, @MbekiSchool Postdoctoral Fellow. · “In your 1998 speech titled two nations thesis you argued that South Africa is a nation divided along Racial, Economic and Spatial lines. On the one hand is the White Affluent minority and on the other hand it is the Black marginalized majority. But inequalities persist today in South Africa, and Black Africans are on the receiving end since the colonial encounter. Although we know this, recently Dr Pali Lehohla has confirmed that 10% of white people own the majority of the wealth and will continue to. More and more South African youth are becoming aware of this situation. The question is: why does this trend persist, and what were some of the ways your government dealt with it? · More and more young people lack confidence in party politics because they see parties as a fraternity of extraction from the state. Vladimir Lenin, Nkrumah, Nyerere, and others warned that the Party-State will eventually lead to the deterioration of societies, where various oppressions will arise. The question is: How can we envision a new form of politics that does not center the party and state? · The relationship between the Sahel Alliance and ECOWAS has been severed. The Sahel Alliance claims that France's colonial relationship persists; therefore, those coups were justified and supported by the masses. If we take this situation seriously, then how do we define popular sovereignty? Who has the right to legitimize or delegitimize these governments?” Dr Thabang Manyike @Unisa @unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

Tshegofatso Mmope, @Unisa SRC Secretary-General, delivering a message of support. @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

According to Prof Phaswana the African Renaissance demands rigorous scholarship, ethical leadership and capable institutions. The test for this generation is practical: what will we do differently to turn an enduring aspiration into a lived reality? @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

“Our task is to build a just, fair, equitable and inclusive society in which no one is left behind, and in which every African has a space in the sun.” — Prof Puleng LenkaBula, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Unisa. @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

The partnership between Unisa and the Thabo Mbeki Foundation advances African scholarship, leadership development, research and public dialogue. Together, these institutions are investing in a new generation of African thinkers and leaders committed to the ideals of the African Renaissance. @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

Prof @phaswaed, Acting Executive Dean at the @MbekiSchool, @Unisa, is officiating the programme for today’s Conversation. @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

We are ready to host the conversation with former President Mbeki and the students. YouTube: youtube.com/live/zYqtrQ9OkBw… @Unisaradio @Unisa @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

Former President Thabo Mbeki has arrived @unisa to engage with students, where he was warmly welcomed by Prof. @LenkaBula, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor @unisa and the chairperson of Council Dr Mosia.   @Unisaradio @TMFoundation_ #MbekiSpeaks | #ConversationWithTM2026

The University of South Africa will host a CONVERSATION WITH FORMER PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI this afternoon. Scan the QR code or click on this link to watch the session live on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/live/zYqtrQ9OkBw… #MbekiSpeaks #Unisa