Deputy President Paul Mashatile has announced that the first national dialogue promised when the GNU was established will be held on December 16, and a special cabinet meeting will be held next week to discuss the logistics.
“The reason we will have a special meeting of the cabinet is because of the time frames. The sooner the cabinet discusses the matter, the better,” he said on Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa previously said the national dialogue would discuss critical challenges facing South Africa, and will agree on what needs to be done to achieve a better future.
It would involve stakeholders representing civil society, traditional leaders, the faith-based sector, labour, business, cultural workers, sports people and other formations representing the diverse interests and voices of South African citizens.
On Thursday, Mashatile hosted the second meeting of the GNU’s clearing house committee, a platform established by Ramaphosa for the purposes of resolving policy disagreements and any disputes within the 10-member GNU.
The meeting, attended by representatives of the 10 parties in the GNU, was held at Tuynhuys in parliament and was also attended by Maropene Ramokgopa, minister in the presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation, deputy minister of justice Andries Nel and a representative from the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser to make presentations.
First national dialogue to be held on December 16, Mashatile confirms
Image: GCIS
Deputy President Paul Mashatile has announced that the first national dialogue promised when the GNU was established will be held on December 16, and a special cabinet meeting will be held next week to discuss the logistics.
“The reason we will have a special meeting of the cabinet is because of the time frames. The sooner the cabinet discusses the matter, the better,” he said on Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa previously said the national dialogue would discuss critical challenges facing South Africa, and will agree on what needs to be done to achieve a better future.
It would involve stakeholders representing civil society, traditional leaders, the faith-based sector, labour, business, cultural workers, sports people and other formations representing the diverse interests and voices of South African citizens.
On Thursday, Mashatile hosted the second meeting of the GNU’s clearing house committee, a platform established by Ramaphosa for the purposes of resolving policy disagreements and any disputes within the 10-member GNU.
The meeting, attended by representatives of the 10 parties in the GNU, was held at Tuynhuys in parliament and was also attended by Maropene Ramokgopa, minister in the presidency responsible for performance monitoring and evaluation, deputy minister of justice Andries Nel and a representative from the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser to make presentations.
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Policy recommendations made by the clearing house committee will be taken to the GNU party leaders for consideration. “Once the structures dealt with the issues, we will report to them as leaders that we have resolved them, and where we are not able to resolve the issues, we will also inform them we were not able. Hopefully, we will be able to resolve many of the issues as the clearing house.”
Among the sticking points that the committee is set to iron out are two sections of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA) that Ramaphosa signed into law last month.
Implementation of the two contentious sections was delayed so that differing parties could find each other and map the way forward. The clauses relate to school admissions and language policy and are opposed by some of the GNU partners.
In a statement, the Presidency said the meeting discussed terms of reference of the clearing house mechanism and aspects of the Bela Act. It also received an update on the preparations for the G20 Summit and on the national dialogue. “It was agreed that the secretariat should consolidate the views and enrich the terms of reference, and that further deliberations must continue with regards to the Bela Act,” read the statement.
Regarding the G20 meeting to be chaired by South Africa from December 1, Ramokgopa gave an overview of logistical arrangements as well as the substantive agenda outlook which includes the theme, priorities and inputs on the working groups.
TimesLIVE
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