National Dialogue: 'It must take a bottom-up approach and be citizen-led' - Roelf Meyer
Sara-Jayne Makwala King
13 August 2025 | 17:24President Ramaphosa confirmed that the first National Convention would go ahead next Thursday, despite several groups withdrawing.
Archive: Roelf Meyer - Wikimedia Commons/AMISOM Public Information
702 and CapeTalk's Mandy Wiener is joined by former politician and Codesa negotiator Roelf Meyer. He is also a member of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG).
Listen below:
An opportunity for real engagement or a money-wasting talk shop?
Opinion is divided around the usefulness of the forthcoming National Dialogue.
Ahead of a preliminary convention this weekend, several political parties and legacy foundations have already pulled out.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with members of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), selected to drive the Dialogue.
In Transformation Initiative director and former politician Roelf Meyer is part of them - he negotiated alongside Ramaphosa in the 1990s during the Codesa talks, which defined our democracy.
RELATED: National Dialogue in crisis: ActionSA latest to pull out?
"There's a lot of contestation around the country, between communities... and the purpose of the dialogue is to address those contestations."
- Roelf Meyer, Eminent Persons Group
Legacy foundations, which have pulled out of the first leg of the National Dialogue, say they had concerns about the extent of government involvement.
"South Africans have to ensure that this is citizen-led, that this is not something that has been dictated or prescribed by government."
- Roelf Meyer, Eminent Persons Group
"It can't be controlled by government and that is the main point."
- Roelf Meyer, Eminent Persons Group
RELATED: Legacy foundations that have pulled out of National Dialogue blame 'logistics'
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