President confirms date for national dialogue convention
PRETORIA - President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a National Convention to be held on 15 August.
It will set the agenda for the much-vaunted National Dialogue.
The President says the dialogue will find new meaning for what it means to be South African.
WATCH: National dialogue | Forging a new social compact
It will also develop a new national ethos and common value system.
The President has appointed a group of Eminent Persons to guide the process.
It will include leaders from business, government, and traditional and religious leaders.
They include former IEC chair, Dr Brigalia Bam, Justice Edwin Cameron, Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi and Gift of the Givers founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
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Daily Maverick
33 minutes ago
- Daily Maverick
Musk wants South African rocket launch site and rare earths
New developments since the Oval Office spectacle cast new light on the potential implications for South Africa's critical minerals, space ambitions, and ongoing trade negotiations. Three weeks ago, behind closed doors at the White House, South African-born billionaire Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump found common ground in a much friendlier, extended lunch meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, which followed an earlier public spat in the Oval Office. While that initial encounter set the stage, a flurry of developments since – including a public and very messy fallout between Trump and Musk – has cast new light on the potential implications for South Africa's critical minerals, space ambitions, and ongoing trade negotiations. As previously reported for Business Day, both Musk and Trump talked to the South Africans about South Africa's rare earths and extremely high tariffs on imported cars. Rare earths are used in magnets in just about every hi-tech gadget on Earth, and especially in electric vehicles (EVs). 'You guys are the largest economy on the continent… and you have minerals we need,' Trump said, according to DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, who was in the room. Both Musk and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were interested in South Africa's critical minerals because of the shortage of rare earths used, especially in magnets. Magnets are vital in several of Musk's multibillion-dollar businesses, and he takes an active interest in the location of mines capable of providing the rare earths they require. Though Trump did most of the talking and Musk was almost as reticent in the closed-door lunch meeting as in the Oval Office, both had rare earths and their use in magnets on their minds. At the time, China, the world's main supplier of rare earths for magnets, had frozen exports of both the minerals and the magnets to the US. There have been a few key developments since the White House meeting. This week, China and the US agreed that China's magnet and rare earths exports to the US will resume. The magnet and rare earths freeze was a significant threat to the US, and several product lines had to suspend production in the US, Japan and Europe. You could say Musk got to experience what it felt like to be Ramaphosa or Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. South Africa has a valuable rare earths mine, Steenkampskraal, about 380km north of Cape Town, but its first significant output will not be available until some time next year (2025). Musk also said he was interested in launching SpaceX rockets from the Denel Overberg rocket test site at Arniston, outside Cape Town. Two space experts said the value of the Arniston launch site to Musk is to launch satellites that will orbit over the South Pole, as well as Starlink low-Earth orbit satellites to provide broadband to consumers. In the White House meeting, Musk did not mention Starlink, which has been in the news in South Africa lately, apparently because the South African government has already set up a process to review its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy as it affects companies like Starlink. This week, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi confirmed that the decision will depend on a review process by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, which he first raised in September 2024. The review was announced last month, but no outcome of that process is expected soon. In the three weeks since the White House meeting, Trump and Musk have exchanged extremely harsh words in a fallout that echoed around the world. You could say Musk got to experience what it felt like to be Ramaphosa or Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, though Musk, at least, brought it on himself. Musk broke with Trump by announcing that he 'couldn't stand it anymore', called Trump's omnibus budget bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill – its official title – a 'disgusting abomination', an 'outrageous, pork-filled' spending bill that will 'massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America [sic] citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt'. Then Musk alleged that Trump is implicated in the scandal around indicted alleged paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison before his trial. Oops. More directly relevant since the White House meeting is the still uncertain status of US-South Africa trade talks. Then on Tuesday Musk dialled it back with a reconciliatory phone call. Clearly he discovered being out in the cold was no fun. 'I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week,' he messaged. 'They went too far.' Then the two men spoke on the phone. We'll see where that goes. Musk apologised, but didn't say which part was 'too far' – the bill or the hint at a connection to an accused paedophilia celebrity? Musk's objection to the bill is real. Musk believed most fervently in that part of the Maga agenda that would cut America's mushrooming debt. With this bill, that goal has been abandoned and may be hard to resurrect. But what does the Trump-Musk feud mean for South Africa's trade negotiations, particularly in light of these recent developments? More directly relevant since the White House meeting is the still uncertain status of US-South Africa trade talks. Ramaphosa has announced that he will meet Trump this weekend in Canada on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. However, Trump is running the policy for South Africa directly from the White House, and sources in the State Department said nothing from the White House meeting has trickled down to them to indicate that negotiations are under way. Trump has successfully imposed a total blackout on any leaks about what happened behind closed doors. Neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio nor anyone from his department was in the meeting. The three officials who did discuss a new trade deal with the South African delegation are located elsewhere in the administration, and Trump has not yet nominated an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who normally leads US Africa policy. Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative, which is a cabinet position, met the South African ministers in Washington for substantive talks. And at the White House, Lutnick was active in discussing future deals. Trump, who has taken a special interest in the auto sector, raised the question of auto tariffs and directed Lutnick to follow up in his talks with South African Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau. Perhaps the most important implementer of US Africa policy at present, Massad Boulos, who is a senior adviser to the US president, was in the meeting too. The father-in-law of Tiffany Trump, the president's youngest daughter, Boulos emigrated to Texas from Lebanon as a teenager, and spent his career in Nigeria as CEO of a trucking and heavy machinery dealership. He was instrumental in the Trump campaign for Arab-American votes in the election in 2024. His first appointment was as Arab and Middle Eastern adviser to the president, a position he still holds. Boulos, whom Trump singled out in the Oval Office meeting, has been driving US policy in eastern DRC peace talks, and had meetings with the Nigerian president, among others, since taking office. The Denel Overberg test site near Arniston, the brainchild of the Aerospace Systems Research Institute led by Professor Michael Brooks at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has successfully launched several suborbital South African rockets to nearly 18km, some using South African-made engines. Its last launches used a new six-storey gantry, and it is currently on track to be capable of launching satellites into orbit in 2028. A SpaceX investment could significantly accelerate this progress. More than 30 significant space companies and start-ups are based in South Africa. They collaborate with the South African National Space Agency. Sources in Washington are reluctant to predict whether the optimism of Ramaphosa and his delegation about a trade deal will be justified. South Africa is currently working with international space sector partners in the US, Europe and China. The US and South Africa are partnered on a project to build a new deep-space ground station in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape. It will support communications for future US Artemis missions to the moon and Mars. In August 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed two agreements with South Africa on cooperation in space projects. One focused on crewed spaceflight, and the other included South Africa in the team for the planned Chinese-Russian International Lunar Research Station. South Africa is also working with the European Space Agency. The trade deal South Africa offered the US included a duty-free quota of 40,000 US vehicles a year for the auto sector and duty-free access for automotive components sourced from South Africa for automotive production in the US. South Africa agreed to buy LNG gas from the US for 10 years, costing about $1.2-billion in trade per annum, or $9-billion to $12-billion over 10 years. Sources in Washington are reluctant to predict whether the optimism of Ramaphosa and his delegation about a trade deal will be justified. Trump was aiming for 90 trade deals with foreign countries in 90 days. That was 70 days ago, and only one outline deal, with the UK, has been announced. More than any president in recent history, the final decision will depend almost entirely on how this president feels about it at the time. DM
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
South African youth share their challenges and hopes
Aqeel Madhi. Image: Supplied Ahead of Youth Day on June 16, young South Africans shared the challenges faced by the youth and their thoughts on how far they believe we have come as a country, 31 years into democracy. Aqeel Madhi, 27, of uMhlanga, said the challenges faced by the youth were not new. 'Youth unemployment sits at 62.4% compared to the national rate of 32.9%. We are also dealing with gender-based violence (GBV) and what I believe is an under-discussed mental health crisis. Only 5% of our national health budget goes to mental healthcare.' Madhi, a machine learning engineer, said youth were not given opportunities to show what they could do. 'We are capable, energetic and willing. If we are truly the future, then every South African, every institution, and every level of government should be working with us to secure this country's future, not putting the burden solely on us.' 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 Madhi said if the issues faced by the youth were not addressed, the consequences would be devastating. 'We will entrench intergenerational poverty transmission. Research consistently shows South Africa has among the world's lowest social mobility, with poor education quality being a major factor keeping families trapped in cycles of poverty. Failure to address these issues will also further erode our economy and increase crime and mental health problems. 'However, Ubuntu is what I love most about being South African, and it is our solution. Every person, institution, and government level must come together to fix this youth crisis which requires an emergency-level response,' he said. Irfaan Mangera. Image: Supplied Irfaan Mangera, 28, of Lenasia, said the youth faced an overwhelming set of crises. 'The most urgent being lack of access to quality education and skills training, youth unemployment, mental health challenges, systemic inequality, and political exclusion. 'Over 60% of young people are unemployed. GBV, food insecurity, and a failing education-to-employment pipeline are not just issues, they are symptoms of a broken system that is not listening to or investing in its youth meaningfully.' Mangera, a youth activist and human rights, strategy and campaigns consultant, said young people had always been the engine of change in South Africa. 'From the 1976 uprisings to #FeesMustFall and even now as advocates in their communities. We must continue to organise, conscientise, and mobilise collective and people's power. We also need to enter and transform institutions, from student councils to Parliament. 'The youth must also take up space not only in protest but in policy, public service, entrepreneurship, the arts, and community leadership. Our role is not to wait our turn; it is to lead differently and with values that are rooted in equality, dignity, respect and a commitment to constitutional democracy.' Mangera said if the challenges were not addressed with urgency, South Africa risked becoming a democracy in name only. 'Where our rights are not protected, and the elite of society continue to garner insurmountable privileges while the most vulnerable suffer the most inhumane conditions, the generation left behind will become a breeding ground for despair, violence, populism, and political instability. We will have failed our own Constitutional promise and betrayed the dreams of those who fought and sacrificed for our freedom. The cost will be borne not only by the poor but by the soul of the nation, which is becoming visible with each passing day.' He said while there had been constitutional and infrastructural gains since 1994, for millions of South Africans, particularly the youth, democracy had not delivered justice and inequality had grown. Abigail Haridew. Image: Supplied Abigail Haridew, 22, of Chatsworth, said youth unemployment remained a crisis. 'However, beyond this, lies a far more insidious issue: the erosion of hope. Many young South Africans, myself included, feel disillusioned by persistent inequality, political instability, and the unfulfilled promises of post-apartheid progress. 'When the pathways to personal growth and national contribution appear blocked or corrupted, the result is a generation that feels increasingly detached from civic engagement and national identity. This disengagement can manifest in mental health struggles, increased substance abuse, or migration in search of better opportunities abroad." Haridew, a third year student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, said young people had more power than they sometimes realised. 'While we face serious challenges from unemployment to inequality, we can't afford to sit back, and hope things change on their own. We need to take action in our own spaces, whether that means starting youth-led initiatives, raising awareness on social media, volunteering in our communities, or simply supporting each other through education and mentorship." She added that the government needed to take real action to support young people, not just make promises. 'We need better access to quality education and training that actually prepares us for jobs that exist in today's world. More support is needed for youth-owned businesses, internships, and programs that help us gain experience. Mental health services must be made more available, especially in schools and rural areas. 'Most importantly, the government needs to involve young people in decision-making because we know the problems. We live through them every day. If the government works with us and not just for us, we can create a future that gives all young South Africans a fair chance.' Bilqees Akoodie. Image: Supplied Bilqees Akoodie, 30, of Johannesburg, said youth faced structural unemployment, deepening both economic and spatial inequality, exclusion from decision-making and a failing public infrastructure. 'We carry the weight of historical injustice and the burden of a system that has failed to transform meaningfully post-apartheid. We are also the first digital generation, navigating both real-world exclusion and virtual visibility, without the material support to turn our ideas into impact. Meritocracy is undermined by networks of nepotism, tokenism, and bureaucratic gatekeeping. Racial quotas are not the root problem; unequal distribution of power and opportunity is.' Akoodie, a legal scholar and advocate for international justice, said the youth are not a demographic box. 'We are political actors, caregivers, innovators, and organisers. Our role is to transform and not just inherit this democracy. Youth-led activism is powerful, but it must also be sustainable, strategic, and policy-literate. We have to claim space not only in protest but in boardrooms, courtrooms, and parliaments without being co-opted or diluted.'
The South African
an hour ago
- The South African
South Africa's loan for reform: World Bank in control
South Africa's loan of R26 billion for reforms authorised by the World Bank will improve the country's infrastructure. The Country Partnership Framework serves as the core plan to help South Africa reform through investments and partnerships. Reform aims to reorganise Eskom, transition to cleaner energy sources, make state-owned enterprises work better, and influence policies. The National Treasury supports these as part of the process of getting the debt and the budget back on track. Giving private control over public value is meant to get private money to pay for public services and infrastructure. South Africa gets short-term help with energy reforms, freight transport, and job creation. The World Bank benefits by getting interest, policy power, and access to markets through its private subsidiary, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). International corporations invest alongside private companies to get into state-run industries like energy and logistics. People are worried that South Africa's economy won't be stable in the long run if it relies too much on foreign loans. Redge Nkosi, an economist, told SABC News what would happen if South Africa's reform fails: it would get weaker, and foreign investors would have an easier time taking advantage of locals. The World Bank division director for South Africa, Satu Kahkonen, and the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, believe the loan will help the country's growth through reforms. Countries like Nigeria and Burkina Faso are cutting debt and reducing foreign loan dependency. However, Africa's total debt load keeps escalating to over a trillion. Leaders at the African Union (AU) at the debt conference in Lomé, Togo, from 12 to 14 May 2025, urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to swiftly alter Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to improve the utility and equity of debt relief. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news
