SOWETAN SAYS | Egos must not derail national dialogue

Since its announcement, the national dialogue has ignited fierce public debate and often been at the centre of controversy.

First, it was criticised as a costly talk shop that is likely to lead to no meaningful change for ordinary South Africans. In recent months, the DA – one of the biggest parties in the government of national unity – announced it would not participate in the national dialogue after the axing of its member, Andrew Whitfield, as a deputy minister.

In the latest setback, a few days before the start of a national convention – which is to be a preparatory platform to set the agenda for the national dialogue – key organisations have announced their withdrawal from it.

These organisations include the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and others have cited concerns such as not having enough time to prepare, the government’s control and disagreements with the task team preparing for the convention. However, reports over the weekend revealed that there is more to the withdrawals from the convention than meets the eye.

According to Sowetan’s sister publication, The Sunday Times, simmering tensions between former president Thabo Mbeki and President Cyril Ramaphosa are as much a part of the reasons for the latest upheaval over national dialogue. The Sunday Times reported that the disagreements are over budget, timing of the first convention and who controls the dialogue process.

Mbeki, who proposed the idea of a national dialogue, is said to be unhappy with the degree of government control over it.

It is evident that the national dialogue has become somewhat of a battleground for various groupings and the government. The dialogue, despite being justifiably criticised based on initial cost estimates, is an important process to chart the vision and future of this country going forward.

Therefore, its failure or success will not reflect only on the government but on our society and potentially have implications for generations to come. SA is facing a myriad of problems, including unemployment, crime and poor economic growth, which no single government policy or programme has been able to deal with for the past 30 years.

The coming together of all sectors of our society is an important response that should be measured on the commitment to unity and nation-building rather than on whose idea it was to convene the meeting.

This is why we believe that whatever the disagreements may be over the upcoming dialogue, we cannot afford to allow egos to get in the way of the future of this country.

The vision from the national dialogue must be embraced by all and guide our future endeavours to move this country forward.