This comes after severe criticism that the first national convention was poorly planned.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is urging South Africans to embrace differing views in the National Dialogue, describing disagreements as “vital for progress”.
This comes after severe criticism that the first national convention held at Unisa in Pretoria last week was poorly planned, nothing but a talk shop and did not include all race groups, especially white people.
Boycott
With so many top leaders and prominent South Africans boycotting the National Dialogue, an expert told The Citizen it risks losing credibility if it continues in its current form.
Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said instead of forging ahead, President Cyril Ramaphosa should review or reconstitute the National Dialogue to bring everybody on board.
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Disagreements
Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said: “Disagreeing is part of engaging in a meaningful and robust dialogue. It is through the expression of different views that we will be able to give full legitimacy and credence to the dialogue.
“We should, therefore, make a determined effort to air our differences with a view to finding agreement on the actions we need to take together to build a better society, in which every person has an equal opportunity to prosper,” Ramaphosa said.
‘No exclusions’
He added that there should be “no person, no part of society and no institution – either public or private – that is excluded from the conversation”.
“The dialogue should break down the barriers between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ and challenge notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’.
“At the same time, we should not seek a form of unity that is based only on sentiment, but a unity that is forged through constructive and honest discussion on the difficult questions our country faces – and an agreed programme of action,” Ramaphosa said.
‘Important voices’
He said there was a strong emphasis at the convention on inclusion and participation, with some delegates expressing concern that important voices were missing from the gathering.
“There was a firm view that special efforts should be made to reach and include groups and people who were often left out or marginalised.”
Ramaphosa said a steering committee representative of civil society groups will be set by the end of the month to lead the rest of the dialogue’s process in conjunction with the Eminent Persons Group he announced in July tasked with championing the dialogue and providing advice.
The president said the Eminent Persons Group will also advise the head of state as the convenor of the National Dialogue to ensure that it is “inclusive and credible”.
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