Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured parliament that the government will drive down the cost of the national dialogue over the public backlash over the estimated R700m price tag.
Speaking at the National Council of Provinces during a question-and-answer session on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said people had been fixated over the cost of the dialogue.
Earlier this month, Ramaphosa announced the national dialogue would be convened in August with eminent people from different groups expected to lead discussions. The dialogue was agreed upon after the elections which saw the ANC losing its majority and forming a government of national unity with various parties including the DA.
After the announcement of the date for the national dialogue, it emerged that the engagement would cost the country R700m. This led to various parties including the EFF taking issue with the government’s decision to convene the dialogue.
EFF leader Julius Malema penned a letter rejecting the cost as a “grotesque and wasteful plan by the so-called national dialogue preparatory task team”. He said the national dialogue has no bearing on the lives of ordinary South Africans.
On Wednesday, Ramaphosa said many people have become fixated on what it is going to cost.
“We are going to make sure that it is driven down. It is just an estimate. We are going to make sure that we spend as little as possible, but at the same time, have as much consultation as possible so that the process itself must be enriched, while we don’t impoverish the people of South Africa through spending too much money on that whole process.
“So what has been put out as the budgeted amount is going to be looked at, and I have said to my colleagues that costs that have been put out must be driven down,” he said.
He said the country had in the past forged social compacts and moved the country forward. He said the country was experiencing huge problems, arguing that some of the problems are no different from what other countries are experiencing, including unemployment, inequality and poverty.
“And through that type of discussion will evolve a clearer vision, a vision that will be owned by all South Africans, that will also help to guide what we do. It will also address the stark realities of our current situation, as well as the constraints that we face and the lack of growth in our economy.”
He said he was looking forward to the dialogue, coming up with clever ideas and innovative proposals on what needs to be done.
He said the government had embarked on structural reforms to ensure it makes the country investable, where those with money can come and invest with confidence, adding that the dialogue will serve the purpose of bringing South Africans together.
“Not all of us will be able to fit into a hall or a stadium, but it is through our formations, it will, through the voices that we will raise that South Africans will be given an opportunity at various levels, at provincial level, at district level, at local level, participating in the discussions, just like we did when we drafted our current constitution.”
He said millions of proposals and presentations were made, and those were synthesised for the national dialogue.
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