Cyril Ramaphosa launches the first “national dialogue” convention
A little over a year after the last general elections, the president of the continent’s largest economy wants to bring out, through public debates, solutions to the “deep difficulties” facing the country.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a “national dialogue” in Pretoria on Friday, August 15, to “repair the many broken things in the country,” just over a year after the last general elections in May 2024 .
The “deep difficulties” facing the continent’s largest economy are numerous, as Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out: “unemployment”, “inequality”, “growing poverty”, but also the “fear of men in which South African women live” due to sexist violence.
This first day of the convention at the University of Pretoria, which runs until Saturday, is to be followed by six to eight months of local citizen debates. These are expected to lead to solutions that should then be ratified in a “pact” at the end of a second convention in 2026.
Unemployment rate of 33%
South Africa, the most unequal country on the planet according to the World Bank , has seen its unemployment rise, reaching more than in August. It even peaks at more than 46% among young people aged 15-34, according to data published this month by the national statistics institute.
Nelson Mandela’s ANC coalition with the center-right Democratic Alliance is struggling to deliver on its economic promises after a year marked by repeated disputes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts GDP growth of 1% in 2025, after 0.6% last year. US tariffs of 30% on most of Pretoria’s exports could cost the country up to 100,000 jobs, according to the central bank.
Former President Thabo Mbeki (1999-2008), a long-time rival of the current head of state and who remained influential in public debate thanks to his foundation, boycotted this first convention. “What began as a citizens’ initiative has unfortunately turned into a government takeover,” accused several organizations, including Thabo Mbeki’s.
(with AFP)
