President Cyril Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday announced the names of what is referred to as a group of eminent South Africans who will lead the much-anticipated National Dialogue initiative later on this year.
Last week Tshwane Talks had suggested that the process be of the poor, for the poor and by the poor.
But Ramaphosa has evidently handed the administration of the National Dialogue process solely to people who are obviously rich.
There is an adage that goes: might shall right.
And in this case it seems like Ramaphosa believes that “wealth shall right.”
Exact details regarding what the selected eminent persons will be mandated to do are still sketchy, but various commentators have sent their opinions to Tshwane regarding the National Dialogue initiative.
Let it be noted that Tshwane Talks sent the following questions to Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya regarding the establishment of the National Dialogue and the people who have been chosen as facilitators/leaders of this initiative:
1.How much has been budgeted for the National Dialogue?
2.What is the money actually going to be used for?
3.What does the President actually want to achieve with this National Dialogue?
4. Are people chosen to be on the Eminent Persons Group going to be working for free?
5. What will they actually be doing? Engaging in dialogue with those who will be making inputs and at the end of the whole process countrywide the said eminent persons will then write a report to the President and make binding recommendations?
Magwenya responded as follows:
“All the administrative details will be finalised in a short while and I must point out that the National Dialogue is a platform for all South Africans to participate in, own it and shape it and it doesn’t belong to the President, but South Africans must determine whether it’s successful or not”.
Magwenya added that the government is merely facilitating a dialogue for all South Africans to determine the shape and form of the country’s next chapter under a democratic dispensation.
“Our call is to all South Africans in every community and household to participate fully in the National Dialogue process because the National Dialogue stands to be a powerful platform that will shape South Africa’s trajectory,” said Magwenya.
He emphasised that no individual or family must be left behind regarding the National Dialogue process.
Be that as it may one political commentator who chose to remain anonymous told Tshwane Talks that there is no law that dictates that the National Dialogue initiative should be spearheaded by the government with President Cyril Ramaphosa choosing the so-called facilitators or leaders of this initiative.
“Each sub-region in the country should have arranged its own dialogues and present the outcomes of such dialogues to President Ramaphosa,” she said.
Speaking in his personal capacity and not that of his party, FF Plus leader in Tshwane Councillor Grandi Theunissen said his own opinion is that “none of the recognised Afrikaner representatives are included, therefore I believe that the National Dialogue initiative is flawed right from the very beginning.”
Gauteng MK Party Provincial Spokesperson Abel Tau said the following:
“We are not surprised that the ever-surprised Matamela(President Ramaphosa) needs a dialogue to jerk his memory regarding the country that he is leading in his second term as President and I must say that we don’t need another talk shop; we need to implement the resolutions of the only real National Dialogue, which is the Freedom Charter which was adopted in 1955.”
He said the so-called National Dialogue is yet another sell-out position which tries to replace the Freedom Charter with a Government of National Unity (GNU) charter in an effort to erase the position that blacks are standing in.
Veteran award-winning editor and journalist Phalane Motale said the National Dialogue may have great intentions just like the country’s globally-acclaimed Constitution has great intentions, but that it will just be another “talk shop” if some “monsters in the room” still remained.
He mentioned the following factors as the proverbial monsters:
1.Inequality.
2. Unemployment.
3.Poor governance.
4.Poverty and hunger.
5.Gender-based violence.
6. Social divisions.
7. A growing disconnect between citizens and government institutions.
He lamented the fact that most of the individuals chosen to be in the panel of the Eminent Persons Group have been recycled and are very old now.
“Where are the young minds? Do we really need representation from both camps of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC)? Blood brothers nogal?” asked Motale.
“I am really doubtful as to whether the National Dialogue will lead to any tangible outcomes,” said a skeptical Motale.