R700m National Dialogue under fire over funding, exclusions, and ‘elite capture’

The National Dialogue, projected to unfold across communities in the coming months, arrives amid a volley of concerns from independent analysts, the withdrawal of several foundational organisations, and questions about how the process will be funded and what it can realistically achieve.

Public attention has fixated on the plan’s price tag with more than an estimated R700 million.

Critics argue that such a large outlay is out of step with a fiscus already pressed by competing demands, especially when many parties have withdrawn.

By Thabo Makwakwa

Full story at IOL