President Cyril Ramaphosa Defends National Dialogue Budget Amid Criticism

• President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the amount of money that was set aside for the National Dialogue
• He spoke as criticism of the dialogue increased, as political parties and public figures have slammed the dialogue
• South Africans rejected his explanation and reiterated criticisms that the National Dialogue is a waste of money

With 10 years of experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, provided analysis of political developments and interviews with key figures in South Africa.

PRETORIA, GAUTENG — President Cyril Ramaphosa on 18 August 2025 defended the budget set aside for the National Dialogue, which has come under fire since he announced the list of Eminent Persons to lead the dialogue.

According to TimesLIVE, Ramaphosa spoke at the University of South Africa (UNISA), where the National Dialogue kicked off on 13 August. Ramaphosa acknowledged that there was concern that the dialogue would cost R740 million. He said that he resolved not to let the dialogue cost R740 million and said it would be hosted much cheaply.

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He said that the National Dialogue will be traveling countrywide and will not be hiring halls. He said that the dialogue will be hosted in schools and churches, not beer halls.

What you need to know about the National Dialogue

• African National Congress veteran Tokyo Sexwale expressed his concerns about the National Dialogue and said that it must not be labelled as the silver lining to South Africa's problems
• ActionSA president Herman Mashaba labelled the dialogue a wasteful exercise and said there is no need to talk about the country's problems
• Former Minister of Home Affairs Dr Malusi Gigaba called for the National Dialogue to be postponed because there was no discussion document on what the dialogue would be discussing
• Jacob Zuma was reportedly not invited to the National Dialogue, and the MK Party confirmed that he would not attend
• Deputy President Paul Masahtile sparked outrage at the Dialogue's National Convention when he left the conference

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What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on Facebook roasted him.

Jimmy J Fisher said:

"Let's get the couch money dialogue first out of the way."

Mpaipheli Mzolo said:

"But for his campaign alone it cost more than R500 million, yet donors can't be revealed."

Venissa Pillay said:

"Hope that's true, and especially hope that we get some solid, workable feedback and implementations moving forward."

Protocor asked:

"Is this going to be an electioneering campaign? I mean, what do we need a dialogue for?"

Hlomani Ndlovu said:

"Anything under the ANC is useless."

Janet Myers said:

"People believed and still believe in the ANC. It was a disaster waiting to happen, the very second the ANC came into power 30 years ago."

Economic Freedom Fighters slam National Dialogue

In a related article, Grifly News reported that the president of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, slammed the National Dialogue. He said it was a waste of money, the government already did not have.

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Malema said that the EFF did not support the National Dialogue. He added that South Africans need service delivery and not talk.

Source: Briefly News