LETTER: Societal ‘dialogue’ will not succeed with pre-planned outcomes - Business Day

By apparent coincidence, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the kickoff of the national dialogue amid public debate about BBBEE. Along with the collective vision that is supposed to arise from the dialogue, the president has indicated that empowerment policy will be reviewed (“Ramaphosa pledges to cut cost of national dialogue,” June 25).

It’s hard not to be cynical. The national dialogue is the latest iteration of SA’s penchant for idealised consensus-seeking. Such an approach is unsuited to a democracy at the best of times, but it is hard to see how it could conceivably work in a society as divided and stressed as ours is. SA needs hard bargaining and tough choices, not endless deliberation.

Is anything better to be expected from a review of empowerment policy? (“Government mulls BBBEE review to align it with transformation objectives,” June 25). Given SA’s long-term economic stagnation and chronic failure to attract investment — foreign or local  there is an obvious need to do so. However, early indications are not encouraging.

Ramaphosa has repeatedly declared his and his party’s steadfast commitment to the policy, merely conceding the need to “improve” it. If the Employment Equity Act is a guide, this could mean making demands more onerous and coercive. Indeed, his appeal to the National Council of Provinces on the matter was for universal support for these policies.  

Neither a societal “dialogue” nor a policy review can succeed if its outcomes have been substantively determined from its outset. This is especially the case in matters as consequential as the direction of economic policy, irrespective of how ideologically committed to it the president and his colleagues may be.

Terence Corrigan
Institute of Race Relations

https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2025-06-29-letter-societal-dialogue-will-not-succeed-with-pre-planned-outcomes/