National Convention kicks off amid controversy

A two-day National Convention will start on Friday at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in Pretoria amid controversy over its price tag and withdrawals from prominent individuals, foundations, and political parties.

The August 15 to 16 meeting, according to organisers, aims to outline and agree on the key themes of the National Dialogue.

The Committee’s Chairperson Boichoko Dithlake said that “provision has been made for 1,000 delegates during the convention.”

“To date, 755 individuals have been invited from over 30 sectors and over 200 organisations, understanding that the initial allocation may not have covered all sectors sufficiently.”

“A further 245 delegate spaces will be allocated to organisations that have asked to participate in the National Dialogue. In allocating spaces, efforts have been made to ensure sectoral diversity and representation,” he said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said that the National Dialogue will kick-off with the 1^st National Convention and end with a 2^nd National Convention.

This is “to consolidate the outcomes through a Peoples Compact with commitments for citizens, sectors, government, business, labour, civil society, families to heal and rebuild our nation.”

Magwenya said that the National Dialogue will roll out in phases through engagements nationwide, tackling poverty, inequality, jobs, cohesion, safety, governance, and land reform, aiming to forge a National Compact of shared commitments.

However, the Presidency’s move to launch the national dialogue has descended into disputes.

Backlash arose when it was first announced that the process would cost R700 million. However, this has since been revised and set at R450 million – R270 from the taxpayer.

The 15 to 16 August convention will cost around R20 million.

Scathing letter from the former President

A letter from the Thabo Mbeki Foundation (TMF) rejected an invitation for former President Thabo Mbeki to attend the August 15 to 16 meeting.

This was primarily because, according to the foundation, it was not legitimately considered the “First (National) Convention of the National Dialogue” as asserted by its convenors.

All official public meetings of the National Dialogue, including its National Conventions, are meant to be convened by the Preparatory Task Team (PTT), which has been active for over a year.

Crucially, the PTT neither convened nor was involved with the UNISA meeting in any capacity.

The Mbeki Foundation also highlighted significant procedural and structural irregularities.

There are no recognised structures within the National Dialogue programme named the “Convention Organising Committee of the National Dialogue” or “The National Dialogue Team,” both of which were identified as convenors of the UNISA meeting.

“To the best of our knowledge, the PTT never authorised him to issue invitations to any meeting, and certainly never to the 15/16 August 2025 meeting!”.

A major concern from the foundation was an alleged fundamental lack of inclusivity and proper representation.

The individuals attending the UNISA meeting “will have no possibility whatsoever to claim to represent any of the constituencies to which we have referred and will be unable to engage meaningfully on the challenges facing our country”.

The Mbeki Foundation asserted that it was “misleading to describe the 15/16 August 2025 meeting… as ‘The First National Convention of the National Dialogue,’ and an unethical effort to mislead the people of South Africa!”.

They reiterated their commitment to encouraging a legitimate National Dialogue based on honesty, truthfulness, and loyalty to a truly citizen-led process – something that they say the convention kicking off today is not.

Other foundations, political parties withdraw

Two parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) and several legacy foundations have already withdrawn from the process, citing exorbitant costs and a lack of a clear plan.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) have withdrawn from the National Dialogue, citing political bias and lack of credibility.

The DA accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of failing to act on ANC corruption and called the process an “insider stitch-up” to boost the ANC’s 2026 prospects.

The VF Plus criticised ANC dominance, alleged obstructive behaviour, and proposed a parallel event without ANC involvement, arguing the current framework lacked transparency, inclusivity, and potential for meaningful outcomes.

Opposition parties, including the EFF, MK Party and ActionSA, have rejected or challenged the National Dialogue, citing wasteful spending, ANC bias, and lack of legal mandate.

The EFF and MK Party dismissed it as an elite-serving sideshow and ActionSA will send only observers.

The Steve Biko, Thabo Mbeki, Chief Albert Luthuli, Desmond and Leah Tutu, and FW de Klerk foundations announced in a joint statement that they would withdraw from the National Convention.

The foundations said the decision does not stem from apathy or lack of engagement, but from the neglect of the National Dialogue’s fundamental principles.

“The National Dialogue is a generational opportunity to reconnect the people of South Africa to each other and to the democratic project,” the foundations said.

“But we cannot pursue that goal by cutting corners, centralising power, or rushing the process.”

They argued that the Dialogue, which began as a citizen-led initiative, has fallen under government control.

As a result, they say there has been a push for the convention to commence in mid-August, despite advice from sub-committee chairs, adding that this sacrifices the citizen-led process “for the sake of expediency.”