Ramaphosa names 31 'eminent people' to champion national dialogue
President Cyril Ramaphosa will be calling a national convention on August 15, which will set the agenda for the national dialogue.
Ramaphosa also announced the appointment of an eminent persons group of 31 people, who he said will guide and champion the national dialogue and act as the guarantors of an inclusive, constructive and credible process.
In an announcement on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said the national convention will represent the diversity of the South African nation and will be a representative gathering, bringing together government, political parties, civil society, business, labour, traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural workers, sports organisations, women, youth and community voices, among others.
'Through their various political, social and other formations, in their workplaces, in places of worship, communities, villages and sites of learning, South Africans will in the months following the national convention be encouraged to be in dialogue to define our nation's path into the future,' Ramaphosa said.
The views, concerns and proposals that will emerge will be brought together at a second national convention, planned for the beginning of next year.
Ramaphosa said there was broad agreement that given the challenges the country was facing at the moment, the national dialogue should be convened.
'The idea of holding a dialogue is not a new concept in our country. In many ways having dialogues is part of our DNA as a nation. At every important moment in the history of our country, we have come together as a nation to confront our challenges and forge a path into the future in dialogue with one another.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
The fallout from Trump's Afrikaner project on Ramaphosa's National Dialogue agenda
President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended BEE as an engine of growth. Image: GCIS President Cyril Ramaphosa's upcoming national dialogue aims to tackle critical issues facing the country, including the divisions sparked by US President Donald Trump's controversial offer of resettlement to white Afrikaners, alongside pressing concerns regarding unemployment and poor governance. On Wednesday, Ramaphosa announced the appointment of an 'eminent persons group,' comprising 31 South Africans, who will spearhead the National Dialogue scheduled for August 15. One of the eminent persons, who requested anonymity, said the dialogue can be seen as a response to concerns, aiming to address the country's challenges and promote national building. 'The issue should definitely come up, although everybody has a choice to leave the country. "We are way beyond the colour lines now and should focus on nation building with the people who are in the country, instead of dwelling in the past. 'Sure, it's a bone of contention but we do have bigger problems," she said. However, not all are on board with Ramaphosa's dialogue initiative. The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has rejected the dialogue as an "elitist farce," saying it is a "staged theatre for the political elite". In a statement its spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, asked why there were no ordinary South Africans, such as shack dwellers, represented? 'The so-called Eminent Persons Group, handpicked by the very same ruling class responsible for mass unemployment, deepening poverty, collapsing infrastructure and the ongoing betrayal of the Freedom Charter, is a mockery of the suffering endured daily by millions of destitute and despondent South African,' Ndhlela wrote. The EFF has also expressed skepticism, questioning the government's motives and the selection process for the Eminent Persons Group. "The challenges Ramaphosa's National Dialogue seek to address are not a product of triumph of human sacrifice against evil, which require collective national reconstruction, but are a product of man-made destruction and corruption of which he and the party he leads have been at the centre of," the EFF said in a statement. The DA's national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp, welcomed the National Dialogue saying his party would embrace the opportunity. 'I think it's high time that we as a nation get together and discuss collectively what we see as a road forward for this country,' he said. Build One South Africa (BOSA) described the announcement as a positive and necessary step forward for the country at a time of great political uncertainty, public anxiety, and economic malaise. The GOOD Party's general secretary Brett Herron said it was long overdue as the wait had been frustrating.
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
‘Bring all to dialogue': Experts insist national dialogue must be people-driven
Political analysts stress the need for land restitution and broad participation to ensure a meaningful and effective national dialogue. Experts say the envisaged national dialogue must not be a top-down process, but people-driven and discuss contentious issues like land and racial polarisation. But more importantly, said one expert, the dialogue required full commitment from various actors to find a collective solution to the country's myriad problems. Political analyst and scholar Dominic Maphaka from North-West University said the dialogue was necessary to unite the diverse and divided country. National dialogue necessary to unite country He said, as outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa, stakeholders, including business, labour, civil society, communities, youth and people with disabilities, should form part of the dialogue to chart the way forward. 'But the dialogue will require a commitment from various actors to form part of a collective solution to the myriad problems faced by the country,' Maphaka said. ALSO READ: Thandiswa Mazwai says she would've accepted invite to national dialogue had Ramaphosa sent it He alluded to the fact that, due to the vibrant civil society, nonstate actors were often at loggerheads with government and opposing its development policies. 'Despite having divergent ideologies, it is not far-fetched that South Africans share common problems in many areas. I therefore think that ideologies should not take precedence in the dialogue; instead, stakeholders should deliberate and find common policy solutions to address common policy problems,' Maphaka said. Ramaphosa yesterday said he would call a National Convention on 15 August, which would set the agenda for the National Dialogue. National Convention to set agenda A follow-up convention would be held early next year. He said the convention would be a representative gathering, bringing together government, political parties, civil society, business, labour, traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural workers, sports organisations, women, youth and community voices. Some experts believed people and civil society, not government and political parties, should lead the planned dialogue process, including the convention. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa urges caution as floods claims lives in Eastern Cape Political analyst Lesiba Teffo said the national dialogue was not supposed to be driven by the state because that was where the seeds of its failure lay. 'It was contested from inception and some of the initiators are now in the periphery. A reasonable modality would be to start in the provinces whose reports would feed into the national convention. Otherwise, you are likely to end up with another voluminous, glossy and expensive National Development Plan 0.2 Vision 2040,' Teffo said. The need for an all-inclusive national dialogue was first proposed by former president Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki, assisted by Jacob Zuma, was the ANC's first chief negotiator at the pre-1994 Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) talks before they were replaced by Ramaphosa and Mohammed Valli Moosa. Need for national dialogue first proposed by Mbeki There seemed to be a common view that dialogue should involve various roleplayers – from civil society, to state, business, trade unions and political parties. It is understood that the struggle stalwarts' foundations were involved in consultations to kick off the process, while Nedlac was identified to play a role as one of the facilitators due to its composite nature with business, trade unions, community and government. ALSO READ: 'A meaningless publicity stunt by a limping president': EFF slams Ramaphosa's national dialogue call Political and heritage analyst George Tsibani, who supports the idea of a national dialogue, said such a gathering should address the question of land in its proper perspective. He said democratic South Africa was a result of a negotiated settlement that was underpinned by Sunset Clauses that were a compromise and did not address the land question. 'If we pretend that there was no compromise, it would take the focus away from the land issue. The land redistribution and restitution must form the cornerstone of national dialogue,' Tsibani said. Previous Codesa process failed The previous Codesa process failed to address many issues due to the Sunset Clause that allowed for the continuation of white control of the state. 'So Codesa 2 must address the land issue in its totality, meaning there must be a deliberate restitution of land for the people who lost their land during the colonial and slavery periods,' Tsibani said. NOW READ: Ramaphosa, Chief Justice mourn passing of Judge Temba Sangoni
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
South African ministers spend over R200 million on travel in a time of crisis
Deputy President Paul Mashatile's trip to Japan trip has sparked debate over the R900,000 accommodation costs which has drawn scrutiny amid rising concerns over government travel spending. "A DISTURBING pattern of unchecked luxury", is what ActionSA accused the ministers in the Government of National Unity for having spent over R200 million on travel since stepping into office a year ago. The party was reacting to supposed spurge of the government officials in question, having considered data provided by the party's GNU Performance Tracker, based on replies to parliamentary questions. The questions were posed to all ministers - including President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, and the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, who emerged as the big hitters. "This paints a damning picture of executive indulgence at a time of deep economic crisis,' ActionSA said in a statement, calling the trend 'a disturbing pattern of unchecked luxury and weak oversight.' At the centre of the controversy is Mashatile, whose office confirmed spending over R2 million on transport and accommodation for official duties. Four international trips undertaken on behalf of Ramaphosa have cost the state more than R7.9 million, including visits to Ireland, the UK, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Japan. One trip, a four-night visit to Tokyo in March 2025, drew particular criticism after it was revealed that accommodation alone cost more than R900,000 - approximately R225 000 a day. McKenzie and his department have spent around R6.6 million on international travel, including a R164,556 payment for a cancelled trip to Burkina Faso, raising questions about financial oversight. Amid ongoing public debate, IOL News compiled a detailed breakdown of luxury hotel costs in Tokyo. While the R900,000 figure raised eyebrows, analysis suggests such expenses are possible in one of the world's most expensive cities, especially when top-tier hotels and executive suites are involved. However, the costs have fuelled public concern over whether officials are appropriately balancing international representation with fiscal responsibility.
