Ramaphosa instructs organisers to reduce National Dialogue cost

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said that he had instructed organisers of the upcoming National Dialogue to reduce the current estimated price tag of R700 million.

Ramaphosa said he was aware that many were fixated on the cost rather than what the dialogue seeks to achieve.

Answering questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, Ramaphosa also defended the time its taken to get the dialogue off the ground, having initially committed that it would take place within 100 days of the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

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From the initial date of Reconciliation Day last December, the National Dialogue is now set to kick off in August.

President Ramaphosa said that while it aims to hear the voices of the country’s more than 63 million population through various formations and structures, the cost will have to be brought down.

"I would say that X amount of money that has been put out in the public, we are going to make sure that it is driven down. It’s just an estimate. We are going to make sure we spend as little as possible."

Challenged by the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Rikus Badenhorst for failing to stick to the 100-day promise, Ramaphosa said that several factors had prevented this, including the need to introduce structural reforms first.

"Yes, we missed the target on that 100 days but what we have been able to do is to embark on meaningful interventions that are beginning to move the needle."

It's still unclear from which department the National Dialogue will be funded.