Foundations and civil society rally to make national dialogue work
Sthembiso Sithole
FOUNDATIONS and civil society remain committed to making South Africa great.
While there are mixed voices around the National Dialogue, that shouldn't discourage individuals or organisations from participating and making a meaningful contribution.
To strengthen and deepen South Africa's constitutional democracy through inclusive and sustained dialogue, foundations and civil society continue to play a central role in the country and in preparation for the kick-off of the National Convention set to take place on 15 August 2025 ahead of the National Dialogue.
On 30 April 2024, former president Thabo Mbeki called for 'a new and truly inclusive national dialogue.'
He made this announcement during an event marking '30 Years of Democracy.'
On 01 May 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the Cosatu May Day Rally and expressed his support for the call for a national dialogue.
On 19 June 2024, Ramaphosa reiterated the call and support for the national dialogue. Since then, foundations, civil society organisations, and ordinary South Africans have come out in full support of the initiative, while others continue to raise concerns about the dialogue.
Post-1994, despite the efforts made to improve lives and service delivery, the country is still faced with inequality, unemployment, poverty, violence, crime, and social discord, which affect the lives of millions of South Africans.
Let's face it, the country stands at a critical juncture.
This moment calls for all of us to critically reflect with honesty on the journey travelled and work together to come up with practical solutions to make South Africa a better place.
The National Dialogue is a citizen-led nationwide initiative to respond to the country's democratic challenges supported by government, civil society, and foundations.
It is expected to result in a shared national vision with an action plan. The National Dialogue is an opportunity for all South Africans from all demographics to address these challenges and help restore the country to a place of progress and development in the next 30 years.
It's for that reason that the role of civil society and foundations should be supported. The dialogue is a perfect platform for South Africans to engage robustly and ensure that all voices are heard in shaping the future of the country.
Government, foundations, civil society, and many other representative bodies can't do everything on their own.
Citizens must play their part and participate fully and freely in the national dialogue.
The criticism and dissenting voices around the national dialogue should be welcomed, as they help bring another perspective with the intention to contribute to the outcomes of the dialogue.
Like Deputy President Paul Mashatile said, the national dialogue is not a party-political exercise, but it's for the people and by the people.
Just like during the dark days under apartheid, civil society and foundations have organised themselves to play an active role in mobilising South Africans to participate in the national dialogue.
This moment needs all of us to unite and work together as we navigate the next 30 years of South Africa.
(Sithole is a PhD student, communications and social media specialist. His views don't reflect those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eyewitness News
28 minutes ago
- Eyewitness News
ANC's Radebe doesn't foresee repeat of 2021 unrest in KZN if anything happens to Mkhwanazi
JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) KwaZulu-Natal convener, Jeff Radebe, said that there was no need to worry about any unrest in the country despite threats that some may protest if anything happened to KZN Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Mkhwanazi's fate, much like those he named in an earth-shattering media briefing last week, will be made public by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday evening. The decorated police officer accused some of his colleagues and the Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of undermining the rule of law, with Mchunu even accused of sabotaging some investigations. South Africans who favour Mkhwanazi's brazen approach to crime fighting in his province have threatened to take it to the streets if he's suspended or fired for breaking ranks last week. But Radebe said he did not believe that scenes that rocked KZN in 2021 would be repeated. "From where I sit, I don't foresee any upheaval at the moment. This is just a normal press conference, even though it was dramatic."
The Citizen
3 hours ago
- The Citizen
Minister launches R5m youth fund in Mopani
LIMPOPO – Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane delivered a powerful address at the 2025 Ministerial Youth Day celebration held at Mopani TVET College's Sir Val Duncan Campus on Friday, June 27. The event was hosted in partnership with Mopani District Municipality (MDM), the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Letaba TVET College, and other stakeholders. In her speech, Nkabane reflected on the legacy of the 1976 Soweto uprising, marking the 49th anniversary of the historic moment when young South Africans rose against an oppressive regime. She paid tribute to the youth who lost their lives during the uprising and emphasised that the mission they began must now be carried forward through education, innovation, and opportunity. 'This is no longer a day of protest, but a day of progress. We commemorate Youth Month with skills, innovation, and opportunity,' said Nkabane. The minister highlighted one of the country's pressing challenges, expressing concern about the rising number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), describing it as a national emergency requiring immediate action. Moreover, in a major announcement, she launched a R5 million Youth Enterprise Fund, which is a partnership between NYDA and the MDM. The fund will support young entrepreneurs in starting and growing businesses in the district to foster economic growth, job creation, and youth empowerment. This is more than an investment in the economy. It is an investment in youth agency, dignity, and innovation,' she said. Nkabane also praised the Limpopo province and MEC Ernest Rachoene for signing a memorandum of understanding with all seven TVET colleges in the province. This partnership will promote work-integrated learning, giving students hands-on training and improving their readiness for employment and entrepreneurship. In her address to the youth, the minister offered words of encouragement and reassurance: 'You are not forgotten. You are the most powerful resource this country has. Your energy, creativity, and resilience are unmatched.' She urged young people to believe in themselves and encouraged society to support them in realising their full potential. She also called for a united front against the challenges plaguing the youth, including unemployment, gender-based violence, bullying, and substance abuse in schools. The minister concluded by thanking Mopani and Letaba TVET colleges for their leadership in hosting the event and called for collective action going forward. 'Let us walk forward, not just in memory, but in mission. Together we must rise, together we must build, and together we must empower the future generation,' said Nkabane. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
Civil Society must have a voice in the National Dialogue
President Cyril Ramaphosa, supported by Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Cabinet Ministers convened the first inaugural meeting with members of the National Dialogue Eminent Persons Group at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Friday. Image: The Presidency Siphamandla Zondi PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has finally confirmed the start of the national dialogue in South Africa in mid-August. He has explained that it will be a people-centred dialogue and in an open letter the former President Thabo Mbeki has called it a citizen-led exercise. Both are noble ways of thinking about it but several realities will have to be tackled to realise these ideals. This opinion piece is inspired by initial discussions within the Devoted Citizen NGO preparing for this opportunity. Academics like myself who are committed to research through community engagement are duty-bound to assist drive active citizenship based on evidence. First, it is important to note that the need for South Africans to engage about the current state of the country and what must be done to fix it, has long been talked about. Civil society activists have decried the state of our country, the manner in which its economy functions, in particular the fact that it breeds more poverty than shared prosperity, the fact that its public infrastructure is in disarray, and social services including education and health are also falling apart. Activists have said none of these crises are natural in any way but they result from leadership and governance failures. They know that therefore these problems can be reversed when collective will is used to say no further. We cannot allow our country to be run down, our cities to become infested with preventable problems and our villages and townships to become unliveable. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Activists have long pointed out that we need change in leadership, both in persons and in form. So, there must not just be new leaders but there must be new leaders with a renewed sense of purpose, leaders with a new attitude to their task, leaders with greater desire to leave a lasting social legacy. We need a new type of leading, one that includes all, one that organises the best of talent and skills we have to tackle mammoth problems. Activists have said we have to rethink how we see ourselves. We cannot allow what we see around us to become the way of life. We must reject the idea that when Africans take over, things fall into pieces, they say. These agents of change believe we have to believe that we can build a country of our dreams. But we know exactly what dreams we have for this country. It is clear that such a dream must be repeated to leave behind a country far greater, far more excellent, far more functional, and far more prosperous than the one we inherit. Activists have long said maybe we need a CODESA Two but one that is sharply focused on real outcomes. Some of those are to end the era of deadwood running at public institutions. It must end the error of corruption. It must completely reject incompetence in any public office. It must reject nepotism that robs this country of the benefit of the best skills it already has. It must reject narrow party political agendas and embarrass an inclusive forward-looking agenda. Parties have to transcend their narrow focus on what is in the interest of their party, their ideology or their constituencies only, and focus on what South Africa needs. A citizen-led national dialogue should not be political party driven. We should therefore be concerned about the DA-ANC contests at the moment as they signal a fight for the control of the national conversation. Together they constitute only about 60% of the voting public which in itself is not a whole public. Political parties must be encouraged to focus on parliament where they are mandated to pursue positive change. They have not been that successful in doing it. They must let the dialogue take place on the basis of open persuasions and inputs from all who wish too. Organisations like Citizens Coalition, Devoted Citizen NGO, Abahlali BaseMjondolo, etc must be encouraged to drive the process of garnering views that may be silenced by the nature of process and limited time available or even lack of information. Faith-based NGOs such Devoted Citizen, Economic Justice Network, AFRODAD, People Matter Foundation, and so forth have a duty to serve, a responsibility to contribute to building a better country. Since they are driven by hope, they ought to translate that hope into reality working with others to build the country we want. Civil society is a diverse body of people, divided by ideas and ideology, by constituencies and styles of engagement, attitude and passions. But it is the beauty of that diversity joined by a shared commitment to place the country's destiny in the hands of citizens that make them the ideal participants in the national dialogue. Civil society formations must in their individual and collective forms prepare ways of garnering views to represent at the National Dialogue. Professor Zondi is a Volunteer Convenor at Devoted Citizen NGO.
