National Convention invitations 'sent to celebs, not indigenous people’
The two-day National Convention got underway at the University of South Africa main campus in Pretoria on Friday.
The convention is aimed at setting the agenda for the National Dialogue that will take place across the country in the coming months.
However, not everything was off to a good start - a man had to be removed from the podium after he wanted more people to be included in the gathering.
" Today is the opening and the launch of the National Dialogue. Today is not the National Dialogue. We do not intend on excluding any groups of people. However, there is only so much space in this room," Programme Director Lerai Rakoditswe responded.
While government leaders, academics, civil society movements and political parties are gathered inside the auditorium - outside there was a group of disgruntled community members who said they are being excluded from the process.
READ: National Dialogue must go beyond talk – analyst
" We have not received any invitation. They've sent invitations to celebrities, rugby players, academics, but they do not include the real people, the indigenous people. So already there you can see that we have been excluded purposely,” one man said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says a citizen-led steering committee will be chosen to guide the National Dialogue, with government only offering logistical and limited financial support.
" At government level, the Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who is here with us today, led this process in the inter-ministerial committee that I gave him the responsibility to lead, and he, from a government point of view, led this process from the back, allowing the process to evolve independently. Without too much government interference.
Ramaphosa has also addressed concerns about reports of a R740-million price tag for the dialogue.
"We can have this dialogue much cheaper, much lower costs must be the order of the day. That is what we did. And you know what? We were very fortunate. The University of South Africa, the Vice Chancellor immediately said, you know what to cut off though all those costs will give you this beautiful venue for free. And now we've got it for free."
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