The fallout from Trump's Afrikaner project on Ramaphosa's National Dialogue agenda

President Cyril Ramaphosa's upcoming national dialogue aims to tackle critical issues facing the country, including the divisions sparked by US President Donald Trump's controversial offer of resettlement to white Afrikaners, alongside pressing concerns regarding unemployment and poor governance.

On Wednesday, Ramaphosa announced the appointment of an “eminent persons group,” comprising 31 South Africans, who will spearhead the National Dialogue scheduled for August 15.

One of the eminent persons, who requested anonymity, said the dialogue can be seen as a response to concerns, aiming to address the country's challenges and promote national building.

“The issue should definitely come up, although everybody has a choice to leave the country.

"We are way beyond the colour lines now and should focus on nation building with the people who are in the country, instead of dwelling in the past.

“Sure, it's a bone of contention but we do have bigger problems," she said.

However, not all are on board with Ramaphosa's dialogue initiative. 

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has rejected the dialogue as an "elitist farce," saying it is a "staged theatre for the political elite".

In a statement its spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, asked why there were no ordinary South Africans, such as shack dwellers, represented?

“The so-called Eminent Persons Group, handpicked by the very same ruling class responsible for mass unemployment, deepening poverty, collapsing infrastructure and the ongoing betrayal of the Freedom Charter, is a mockery of the suffering endured daily by millions of destitute and despondent South African,” Ndhlela wrote.

The EFF has also expressed skepticism, questioning the government's motives and the selection process for the Eminent Persons Group. 

"The challenges Ramaphosa's National Dialogue seek to address are not a product of triumph of human sacrifice against evil, which require collective national reconstruction, but are a product of man-made destruction and corruption of which he and the party he leads have been at the centre of," the EFF said in a statement.

The DA’s national spokesperson, Willie Aucamp, welcomed the National Dialogue saying his party would embrace the opportunity. 

“I think it’s high time that we as a nation get together and discuss collectively what we see as a road forward for this country,” he said.

Build One South Africa (BOSA) described the announcement as a positive and necessary step forward for the country at a time of great political uncertainty, public anxiety, and economic malaise.

The GOOD Party’s general secretary Brett Herron said it was long overdue as the wait had been frustrating.

Ramaphosa said the dialogue will focus on several key areas, including economic growth, job creation, and social cohesion.

"We are called upon to build a thriving, inclusive economy that creates jobs and opportunities. We are called upon to build safer communities and to create a better future for our children,” Ramaphosa said.

Cape Argus