Municipal elections may delay National Dialogue, says Mashatile

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile has hinted at yet another delay for the National Dialogue which the government had promised to conclude in the first half of this year. 

It may take place after the local government elections, Mashatile said this during the 2026 National Dialogue Steering Committee (NDSC) induction session on Saturday. 

Mashatile, through his spokesperson, Keith Khoza, said the process leading to the dialogue will require a huge effort to onboard society broadly.

He added that, given the task at hand, it may require that the actual dialogue may take place after local government elections. 

The specific election date has not yet been announced, but the window is determined by the five-year term of the current councils, which officially ends on November 1, 2026.

Mashatile said the reasons behind the decision are that the public will be involved in the election, including a voter registration campaign. 

“Secondly, the dialogue must be orchestrated to reach the lowest levels of society. This means both responsibilities will be demanding. Consequently, at a certain point, the dialogue work will be paused in favour of election work,” he said.

The total cost of the National Dialogue initiative is projected to be R450 million, with R270m funded by taxpayers via the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the remainder from the private sector.

Mashatile said even though there is a budget allocated for the process, the government will allocate necessary resources. 

“How resources are utilised must be transparent and there should be proper accountability and responsibility,” he said, adding that the government is committed to seeing the work of the dialogue completed. 

Mashatile is the chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the National Dialogue. He presided over the two-day induction at Unisa’s Muckleneuk main campus in Pretoria

Khoza said the discussion of the closed session will be divulged through dialogue structures. 

The induction, according to the committees, offered critical inputs, key reflections and handover reports between the structures. 

“We were reminded about the intention behind structures, how they are intended to work together and what is expected from each, in the dialogue process,” read the National Dialogue page comment on X, adding that communication that prioritises clarity and verified information can be expected. 

The National Dialogue is convened to address deep-seated national crises such as poverty, inequality, crime, and slow economic transformation by bringing all sectors of society together to forge a new, shared vision and social compact for the country's future, moving beyond talk to practical action and rebuilding trust. 

However its start has been marred by division within the Government of National Unity, with the DA being the first to announce its withdrawal from the initiative. 

Cape Times