President Cyril Ramaphosa says there is misinformation and misrepresentation on the cost of the National Dialogue or who is running it.
The Dialogues Preparatory Task Team chairperson, Nkosinathi Biko , sparked criticism when he estimated at a media briefing in June that the Dialogue could cost R700 million.
Democracy is not cheap. Building a nation is very costly. The next thing we are going to do is to present the draft budget and workshop that budget. Just to pull the provinces and municipalities is an estimation of probably more than R700 million , he said.
The Presidency later clarified that the government had not yet engaged in a process of formulating a budget.
Democratic Alliance DA Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille has recently claimed the Dialogue is just a cover for the ANC's African National Congress 2026 election campaign. The party has also withdrawn from it.
Ramaphosa responds to National Dialogue criticismSpeaking during a meeting with the National Dialogues Eminent Persons Working Group on Friday 11 July, Ramaphosa said it is expected that the process will be contested and used to score political points, or to advance particular interests.
We should not be surprised if there is scepticism or disinterest from some quarters, he added.
We have already been confronted by the challenge of misinformation and misrepresentation, whether on the cost of the National Dialogue or on who is running it.
But that should not distract us from the work we have to do to give a platform to the millions of voices in our country, so that they may be heard and so that they may be counted.
The President urged the Eminent Persons not to fear criticism, adding, We should welcome it.