President Cyril Ramaphosa insists that the first National Convention of the National Dialogue must go ahead on 15 August, despite divisions and the withdrawal of several legacy foundations.
Last week, foundations, including the Steve Biko Foundation, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, the Chief Albert Luthuli Foundation, the Oliver & Adelaide Tambo Foundation, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, and the FW de Klerk Foundation, withdrew from the dialogue.
Rushed
The organisations listed several reasons for pulling out, including the erosion of citizen leadership, lack of finances, lack of a proper platform for the dialogue, misalignment within the organising committee and the timelines involved.
They said under the current circumstances, the dialogue is being rushed, leading to constrained logistics and limited interactive design and should be postponed to a later date.
National dialogue going ahead
Ramaphosa confirmed that the first national convention would go ahead on Thursday despite the withdrawal of the foundation from the initiative.
The president’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said that while Ramaphosa expressed regret at their withdrawal from this part of the preparations, he was encouraged by their intention to continue to play a meaningful role in the National Dialogue as it unfolds.
“The National Convention must happen so that South Africa’s people can take ownership and control of the National Dialogue. Invitations have gone out to organisations across the country and delegates are preparing themselves to attend the convention.
“It is at the National Convention that the people of South Africa will take over and run with the National Dialogue process,” he said.
Calls to action
Magwenya said the National Convention will be a call to action for citizens to lead an inclusive dialogue on the challenges facing the country.
“To this end and in light of the difficulties within the Preparatory Task Team (PTT), the convention organising team has been reorganised and is being reinforced by various social partners and civil society formations.
“This will ensure that the National Convention is successfully held from 15 August 2025 and the National Dialogue process can begin,” Magwenya said.
Involvement
The first National Convention will bring together 200 organisations from 33 different sectors and kickstart the National Dialogue process.
It will take the form of public dialogues in localities and within various sectors across the country.
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