R700m for National Dialogue will contribute to building a better SA, say organisers
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of the dialogue earlier this week, which is aimed at strengthening the country's democracy.
The committee spearheading the dialogue estimates that at least R700 million will be required to facilitate its rollout.
The dialogue will unfold through a series of public engagements across the country over a six to nine-month period.
Committee chairperson, Nkosinathi Biko, said that the dialogue would play a major role in bringing South Africans together for much-needed national conversations.
"When we dip our hands into our pockets on a Friday or Saturday, what are we buying with our R11? Can we, for the first time in 30 years, take just one R11 to put in that portfolio for our democracy and look after it?"
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IOL News
21 minutes ago
- IOL News
Why National Dialogue cannot overlook Marikana Massacre
The National Dialogue should go beyond cosmetic conversations and desist pacifying a growingly disenchanted society, says the writer. Image: The Presidency ON AUGUST 16, 2012, 34 miners were gunned down by the bullets of the South African police while demanding nothing more than a living wage. Ten others had already been slain earlier that week under the same shadow, bringing the death toll to 44. History has since named this tragedy the Marikana Massacre, a wound reopened each year on its anniversary. For the victims and their families, little has changed to transform their lives or the fate of the broader community. Despite the mineral wealth beneath their feet, poverty still greets visitors as they enter Marikana. Residents speak of unchecked criminality, families struggle with basic needs such as healthcare, food, shelter, and a sense of neglect lingers. The town's economic lifeblood is mining, a sector that predominantly employs men, leaving many women without work and therefore more vulnerable to gender-based violence and other forms of abuse. Marikana's plight is a mirror held up to countless communities across the country. The massacre's 44 lives, harrowing as they are, pale beside the relentless tide of violence that has since engulfed the nation. South Africa records an average of 75.5 murders every single day. This year's commemorations mark 4 748 days since that fateful day. At this daily rate, by the close of the day, the nation would have recorded approximately 358 475 murders. This is a figure that rivals, almost number for number, the United Nations Human Rights Office's estimate of deaths in the Syrian civil war between 2011 and 2021. Comparable death tolls emerge from nations like South Sudan and Yemen, long ravaged by civil war and chronic instability, yet South Africa, during the same period, has remained under an ostensibly stable, democratic order. It is a paradox of democracy, one that demands urgent and unflinching examination to scrutinise how a nation at peace harbours such sustained and silent carnage. Murders should stand at the apex of the national dialogue, demanding innovative and decisive interventions, lest it scuppers every other effort towards development. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ Meanwhile, the country is captivated by Shaka iLembe, a televised epic dramatising the blood-soaked rivalries of past generations, tribes warring for dominance, kinsmen killing kinsmen in the name of power. African spiritual traditions teach that identity is inseparable from ancestry. Might today's generation, then, be unwilling vessels of ancestral bloodlust, reliving their forebears' battles through modern acts of violence? The question may be uncomfortable, but it is one worth placing before the spiritualists to explain the persistence of such unrestrained killing in a nation not at war. South Africa is not alone in having endured tribal wars or grappled with severe underdevelopment. Many nations, particularly in Africa and Central Asia, share similar histories and economic burdens; however, their murder rates remain negligible by comparison. This makes our case an outlier, demanding a more searching analysis. The First National Convention, which was in session from 15 to 17 August, should grasp this issue with both hands, probing beyond the surface to expose the root causes of this scourge. This forum should go beyond cosmetic conversations and desist pacifying a growingly disenchanted society. While the country's chronic underdevelopment and the widening gulf between rich and poor will inevitably emerge as key factors, they are not the whole story. Indeed, such conditions have helped fertilise the growth of the 'hitman-for-hire' economy and the grim trade of ritual killings for material gain, temporarily, these being symptoms of a deep moral erosion within society. The National Dialogue must therefore resist the temptation of single-thread explanations. It must commit the time, intellectual rigour, as well as political will to map the complex web of historical, economic, cultural, and spiritual forces feeding this relentless tide of violence. Only by confronting the multiplicity of causes can the nation hope to break the cycle and reclaim the sanctity of life. At its essence, the National Dialogue should be embraced by all citizens as a platform to forge a shared vision of our future. Without such unity of purpose, disillusionment will deepen when the outcomes fail to meet expectations. Already, some believe their concerns will be addressed simply by virtue of the dialogue taking place. This may just be wishful thinking, as certain solutions may demand changes to legal frameworks before they can be realised. Whether there will be a political appetite to make such changes remains to be seen. We may want to refer to the year 2018, when the National Assembly adopted a motion to review section 25 of the Constitution. Public hearings, akin to a national dialogue, were held, drawing more than 700 000 written submissions. The overwhelming sentiment was for a constitutional amendment to enable land expropriation without compensation. Although a majority of parliamentarians supported the proposed Bill, it fell short of the two-thirds majority required, and the effort collapsed. Years later, the issue remains unresolved, and the energy of that national conversation has dissipated into frustration. This is the danger before us now. After investing money, time, and raising hopes, if the structural impediments that brought the country to this moment remain untouched, citizens will lose hope beyond measure. The result could be more poverty, more murders, more gender-based violence, and deeper moral decay, eroding the fragile chances of national rehabilitation and leaving Marikana as merely a footnote in the chronicle of the country's decline. Citizens must understand that the envisaged outcome of this dialogue is a social pact. If attained, the true test will lie in its implementation, where, as always, the snare waits in the details. May God bless all endeavours in pursuit of a civilised common purpose and lead the nation into enduring prosperity. Professor Ncube is the Head of the Department of Social Work at the University of the Free State
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Ramaphosa leads SA delegation to Japan for Africa Development Summit
At TICAD9 in Yokohama, President Ramaphosa will advocate for deeper Africa-Japan cooperation on infrastructure, health, and security, while promoting South Africa's G20 leadership and expanding bilateral trade and investment President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading a high-level South African delegation to the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), taking place in Yokohama, Japan, from Wednesday until August 22. The summit, themed 'Co-creating Innovative Solutions With Africa,' comes amid growing global instability, rising energy and food prices, and economic pressures that continue to strain developing countries. 'This 9th TICAD Summit takes place at a time of unprecedented threats to global peace and security, ongoing conflicts in some regions of the world, distortions and disruption to global trade and a concerning revision by some states to unilateral action at a time when multilateralism and collective solutions to common challenges is crucial,' said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya. 'Rising fuel, food and energy prices have severely impacted developing countries, entrenching poverty and fuelling higher levels of inequality in the face of constrained employment and job opportunities.' Magwenya said the debt and liquidity crisis on the African continent is worsening the challenging socio-economic environment and constraining the fiscal space for governments to cast a safety net over their citizens.
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Sleepy President Cyril Ramphosa's indecisive leadership a cause for concern
Sandile Gumede Image: File May Day! May Day! We have lost one engine; the pilot is unconscious, and the co-pilot is also fast asleep. No one seems to know where we are or what is happening. Even auto-pilot is disengaged, and the plane is going through serious turbulence. This imaginary scenario might be an intense movie scene; but when following the political developments in South Africa it might also be a perfect analogy of what is happening with our leaders. The month of July was an eventful one, and it does not seem like August will be anything better. From General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi stirring the hornet's nest – accusing his bosses of colluding with criminals or being at proximity with them – to Army Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya going to Iran in solidarity after they were bombed by the United States and Israel. Confusing messages about Maphwanya's authority to go there is not a small thing. This could lead to a diplomatic storm between South Africa, Israel and the U.S. Does the general understand diplomacy? Well, what are his political principals saying about this? While we were reeling from that, we headed to Pretoria for the National Dialogue, with President Cyril Ramaphosa arguing that the multi-million rand dialogue will help us answer questions about challenges that have been plaguing South Africans. Among other things, the president said the citizens must ask themselves as to what causes the shortage of drugs in clinics and public hospitals. Come on now, Mr President! Was this a rhetorical question or is he taking us for a ride? Who does not know that there is failure to govern by the very same people that should report to him? 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ The National Dialogue is off to a poor start, although it lived up to the expectations of it being a talk shop. The reality is that it is all about noises and great plans. Is Ramaphosa and his people from Mars? Don't they know the biggest issues that the country is grappling with? If that is the case, then it is a clear indictment against himself and his cabinet. They have been in power, but they are clueless on how to deal with the issues. We have high-ranking officials accused of being in cahoots with the criminal underworld, but the president is sleeping on the job – both literally and figuratively. He was seen having a shut-eye-moment at his own National Dialogue, and we are supposed to take him seriously. In fact, we have seen him in many events being sleepy in his own events. His silence on many things has been deafening. He lacks action when it matters, and this is worrying about a commander-in-chief. He always takes time to act even on matters of national security. He always needs a VAR before he can act. Right now, he is waiting for a commission of inquiry to act on his suspended friend Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. Is it because he is indebted to him for assisting him in being elected president of the ANC and was not Mchunu who classified the Phala Phala Report to protect Ramaphosa? This is the crunch time where South Africa needs decisive leadership. We have a trade and a diplomatic crisis when it comes to SA and US relations. But there is an army chief who goes about making political statements, with Captain Ramaphosa sleeping in the cockpit. His co-pilots are equally ineffective when it comes to taking action. One wonders if we will manage to make an emergency landing to avert the disaster or will we crash into the mountains with our sleepy president. Sandile Gumede is a is sociopolitical writer and former journalist . His views does not represent the Sunday Tribune or IOL. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
