Dr Malusi Gigaba Calls for Postponement of National Dialogue, South Africans Divided by His Appeal

• Dr Malusi Gigaba has weighed in on the National Dialogue, which is due to begin on 15 August 2025
• The upcoming event has faced a lot of criticism and uncertainty, as numerous stakeholders have withdrawn
• South Africans were divided by the former minister's statement, with some agreeing with him

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG - Dr Malusi Gigaba has called for the postponement of the upcoming National Dialogue.

The event, which is scheduled to begin on 15 August 2025, has faced a lot of criticism and uncertainty as various stakeholders, including foundations that were part of the preparatory task team, have withdrawn from it. The price tag has also raised concerns among some.

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Gigaba, a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the African National Congress (ANC), has now weighed in on the event, sharing his thoughts on why a postponement would be the better option.

Why does Gigaba want a postponement?

Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium, Gigaba, who is part of the ANC's drafting committee, said that it had not produced a discussion document yet to offer as part of its participation. He said that as a result, it was not known what would be discussed or who had prepared the documents.

“I would have been happy with the National Dialogue being delayed. If you remember the first jobs summit in 2000, COSATU came up with its paper, business came up with its paper, and the ANC Youth League presented its paper on how to create jobs and to get young people working.

“Various stakeholders, including civil society, came with papers, and then we discussed and synthesised those papers to produce a single state jobs plan. I think it would have been much better to have done that,” he stated.

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Gigaba added that if they were to do the same, they would have a much more fruitful discussion, rather than just being a talk shop or producing outcomes that nobody would take seriously.

Gigaba noted the numerous problems facing the country and world currently, saying that South Africa was looking for leadership and big ideas about how to proceed.

Dr Gigaba discusses National Dialogue with Briefly News

In an exclusive chat with Briefly News, he noted that discussions were going to be developed over time, which was important to remember. He also explained why the party had not produced a discussion document yet.

"Yes, the ANC has not yet developed either these principles or the perspective documents that will inform its own input into the process, but that will be done over time," he said.

He reiterated that the ANC was keen to ensure that the process does not simply become a “talk shop”, but yields concrete results that will propel the country into its next 30-50 years in all aspects.

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Addressing the withdrawal of the legacy foundations, Dr Gigaba said he was not too concerned about early disagreements, as they could still be mended.

"I am confident that none of the parties are so selfish that they would not care about consensus, or would elevate their own selfish interests above those of the nation. There must be a clear willingness to engage and find one another in the process," he said.

Which organisations have withdrawn from the dialogue?

The Democratic Alliance was the first major party to pull out of the event, announcing its withdrawal following the firing of Andrew Whitfield.

Since then, organisations like the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation also withdrew. The foundations raised concerns such as inadequate preparation, disagreements within the Preparatory Task Team and what it called ‘government control’ as the reason for their withdrawal.

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AfriForum and Solidarity also announced that they would be boycotting the event, claiming that the current process had been hijacked by President Cyril Ramaphosa and the ANC. On 12 August, the Freedom Front (FF) Plus became the second Government of National Unity (GNU) party to withdraw, saying that the ANC was being uncompromising and wanted to hijack the process.

Party leader Corne Mulder stated that he believed a dialogue was crucial to finding solutions to the problems in the country, but added that the ANC was setting the wrong tone with its actions.

How did South Africans react?

Social media users were divided by Gigaba’s statement. While some agreed with him, others questioned whether he would be in trouble for speaking out against the dialogue.

Sothandokuhle Mbaleki Gwele asked:

“First of all, what purpose does this dialogue serve, and who will be implementing its recommendations? Because we all know the ANC will never do that. I feel like we are just wasting state resources and money on a talk show to waste time and forget about the failures of the ANC. The Presidency has so many councils, committees, and advisers etc that it could’ve asked them.”

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Isaac Mahlangu stated:

“He is right.”

Bongani Zondo said:

“Mbalula is coming for him. No one must speak for the ANC other than Mbalula. A disciplinary hearing is coming, my friend.”

Lungelo Nyamakazi asked:

“Is this still a National Dialogue or an ANC event?”

Mzoxolo Tshaka added:

“He never knew. He didn’t even know who provided documents to the Guptas while he was the minister. So, it’s not a surprise that he doesn’t know.”

Vuyisa Mdange Malangeni questioned:

“Kanti, who is pushing and hurrying this dialogue and for what reason if some NEC members aren't ready for it?”

Bheki E Langa said:

“His political party suggested this dialogue. So he should ask Ramaphosa all those key questions.”

Phaahla phaahla stated:

“Ramaphosa is forcing it. It's clear that not all ANC members agree to it, but people will say it's the ANC. Meanwhile, the man behind this is Ramaphosa.”

Sexwale raised concerns about dialogue

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Briefly News reported that Tokyo Sexwale also raised concerns about the upcoming National Dialogue.

The ANC veteran cautioned against labelling it the silver lining to the range of problems faced by the country.

South Africans shared their thoughts on Sexwale's statement and questioned the R700 million price tag.

Source: Briefly News