Ramaphosa pledges to cut cost of national dialogue

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured Parliament the government will drive down the cost of the national dialogue, after a public backlash over the estimated R700m price tag.

Ramaphosa told the National Council of Provinces during a question-and-answer session on Wednesday that people had fixated on 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 some parties including the EFF taking issue with the government’s decision to convene the dialogue.

EFF leader Julius Malema has rejected the cost as “grotesque and wasteful” and the national dialogue had no bearing on the lives of ordinary South Africans.

Ramaphosa said the cost was an estimate. “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 SA 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 were no different from what other countries were 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 could invest with confidence, adding that the dialogue would serve the purpose of bringing South Africans together.

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