President Ramaphosa to meet Eminent Persons Group to discuss National Dialogue amid criticism

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to hold his inaugural meeting with the newly appointed National Dialogue Eminent Persons Group (EPG) at the Union Buildings on Friday, 11 July 2025. 

The gathering comes after Ramaphosa announced the appointment of EPG to guide and champion the National Dialogue.

"The EPG consists of prominent individuals in society with a proven commitment to the advancement of social cohesion and nation-building. The Eminent Persons are drawn from across the country and from many fields of endeavour in our public life," said the presidency.

During this first meeting, President Ramaphosa is expected to outline the expectations and core mandate of the EPG, providing a framework through which they can operate effectively. 

Furthermore, the EPG will receive a briefing from the National Dialogue Preparatory Task Team, which is currently finalising arrangements for the inaugural National Convention set to take place on August 15, 2025.

Since its announcement on June 10, the Dialogue has sparked heated debate, especially after its estimated R700 million costs drew widespread backlash.

It has also been argued that the Dialogue is not a genuine democratic exercise, but a costly and dangerous duplication of the national legislature.

However, Ramaphosa said they are going to make sure that they spend as little as possible, but at the same time, have as much consultation as possible.

Meanwhile, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, who was appointed by the president to be among the Eminent Persons Group, said that a successful outcome of the National Dialogue depends on the process becoming everyone’s business.

The Eminent Persons Group is made up of leading figures in society with a proven commitment to advancing social cohesion and nation-building.

“The churches support the dialogue, having called in 2017 for a national conversation aimed at confronting societal fragmentation, moral deterioration and the loss of trust in public institutions. But as we have told President Ramaphosa, it is critical for the credibility of the dialogue for it to be free from manipulation by political and economic elites,” Makgoba said.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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