National Dialogue estimated cost of R700 million will be drastically reduced- Ramaphosa

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa hopes the Cabinet review of the R700 million price tag for the National Dialogue will be able to drive the estimated cost to the “bare bones".

“We are going to make sure that it is driven down. It is just an estimate,” he said when responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday. 

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.

“What has been put out as the budgeted amount is going to be looked at. I have said to my colleagues that the cost that has been put out must be driven down, and we must get to the bare bones and make sure that we have a very rich process of giving South Africans an opportunity of coming up with a very good outcome of the dialogue.”

He maintained that the National Dialogue was well-conceived, articulated, and embraced by several people in the country.

“I would say that those who are developing doubts about the efficacy or ability of the National Dialogue to yield any results need to look at how we have forged social compacts in the past, and how they have moved us forward in the way of progress,” he said.

He also weighed in on concerns that US tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink was being afforded preferential treatment with an attempt to relax BEE legislation. 

Ramaphosa said Minister of Communications Solly Malatsi had indicated that there would be public hearings around relaxing broad-based economic empowerment regulations in the ICT sector…What he (Malatsi) has announced is very much in line with our laws. There is no violation as far as he is concerned and as far as I am concerned with regard to our laws, and it's not specifically aimed at one or any company. It is aimed at ensuring that those who would be, whether local or from any other country, who want to participate in this process, may find greater ease in doing so.”

Pressed by DA MP Nicolaas Pienaar about whether he will support investments such as Starlink without requiring businesses to hand over 30% of their companies, Ramaphosa said the government was committed to fostering economic growth and transformation.

“We came up with an equity equivalent measure that has enabled a number of offshore-based companies, who have had great challenges and difficulties because of the ownership structures of their businesses. We have come up with an equity equivalent solution...

“Let me immediately say, we are not the only country in the world that requires that there should be local ownership, but we may well be the only outlier that requires equity equivalent, where we say, if you're not able to have joint ownership, we want equity equivalent.”

Cape Times