THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE – AN ALL-EMBRACING VISION OF A FUTURE SOUTH AFRICA

The National Dialogue gives the people of South Africa the opportunity to define the South Africa they want and the one they don’t want.

On the 10^th of June President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa pronounced the date for the holding of the first Convention of the National Dialogue as the 15^th of August 2025. President Ramaphosa also announced the names of the individuals who will constitute the Eminent Persons Group.

Announcing the date of the 1^st Convention President Ramaphosa said: 

This initiative has been gathering great support and enthusiasm since it was proposed last year. It has been endorsed by a wide range of formations across society… Over the last few months, we have been engaged in discussions with various entities on the purpose and the form of the National Dialogue. In the wake of these consultations, there is broad agreement that given the challenges our country is facing at the moment, we should convene the National Dialogue.

THE HYPOCRICY OF THE CRITIQUES OF THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE

However, no sooner was the announcement made than there was a cacophony of voices many of whom questioned and expressed critical reservations about the wisdom of having a National Dialogue.

The dominant narrative has been “why do we need a National Dialogue and spending millions of Rands because we all know what the challenges facing the country are…these detractors and critics go on to say that “the country holds periodic elections, and these are representative or a form of dialogue.”

It is disingenuous and a hypocrisy of the highest order for these individuals to critique the holding of a National Dialogue for the simple reason that many of them have personal platforms such as Tik Tok –Facebook – Instagram – Twitter (Now X) to engage in the Public Discourse about these challenges.

They also have the knowledge, expertise and resources to upload their views and opinions on platforms such as You Tube.

They go further and make suggestions about solutions to these very same problems and challenges. Yet they want to deny the majority of the citizens who by and large are voiceless, do not have resources nor the education and skills for the very opportunity to make their voices heard.

The only rationale or reason that they do not want a National Dialogue is that they want to set the agenda for all of us. They want everyone in South Africa to see the challenges we are facing and the solutions through the prism of their own understanding.

There is a certain level of arrogance to this and that it is only they and none other than themselves are the custodians of the truth and the wisdom to offer solutions to the country’s problems and challenges. This approach must simply be rejected with the contempt that it deserves.

In his Address to the Nation on Freedom Day, 27 April 2024 President Ramaphosa pointed to some of the major challenges our country continues to confront.

He said:

…the apartheid’s legacy continues to define the choices and opportunities of so many South Africans.

“We know that despite our achievements, South Africa remains a highly unequal society.

“Our people confront every day the apartheid legacy of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment.

“Crime, especially crimes of violence against women and children, are a scourge in our communities.

“Despite great progress, many households do not have electricity or clean water. There are still many families that go hungry.

“There is a huge divide between the rich and the poor. “We see this divide in access to health care, in access to safe transport and proximity to services and work opportunities. At times, it seems that these challenges threaten to undermine the achievements we have made over the past thirty years.

PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI PROPOSES HOLDING A NATIONAL DIALOGUE

In his speech to mark the 30^th Anniversary of South Africa’s Democracy delivered on the 30 April 2024 at Freedom Park, President Mbeki made the following observations:

• the quality of the leadership we elect to govern our country is of critical importance to the very survival and healthy development of the democratic rule and governance for which many of our people sacrificed their lives.
• This means that as we begin our journey into the next three decades of our democracy, we must elaborate the processes whereby we ensure that those who govern us abide by specified principles and practices of good governance which must be binding, on a non-partisan basis.

He went on further to say:

at the heart of many of the problems our country faces lies the brute reality of a counter-revolutionary intervention which began some years ago… to respond to the enormous challenges created by the counter-revolution, our people should convene in a new and truly inclusive National Dialogue to answer the question – WHAT IS TO BE DONE.

THE CALL FOR A NATIONAL DIALOGUE WAS EMBRACED BY THE NATIONAL FOUNDATIONS

This call for a NATIONAL DIALOGUE by President Mbeki was adopted by the National Foundations of prominent individuals in the struggle against apartheid. The FOUNDATIONS produced a Concept Document in which they said:

…our country is once again at a crossroads with uncertainty as to where it will be tomorrow. The economic and social legacy of our past persists, the political environment is conflictual, the economy is not growing, poverty is widespread, and there is a growing sense of social discontent and alienation.

It is time to reset and reimagine our country for posterity. This must be done by the citizens themselves through a process of purpose directed and courageous conversations.

In line with the adoption of the democratic Constitution in 1996, the upcoming National Dialogue is one of the most important political events in South Africa since 1994. The process to drive this important initiative rests on the shoulders of South African volunteers committed to the success of our country.

THE FACT THAT THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE WILL BE LED BY THE CITIZENS THEMSELVES IS OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE.

IT WILL ALLOW SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZENS AS INDIVIDUALS AND IN THEIR VARIOUS ORGANISATIONAL FORMATIONS TO DEFINE THE SOUTH AFRICA THEY WANT AND THE SOUTH AFRICA THEY DON’T WANT. (END)