COSATU welcomes the convening of the National Dialogue

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes the convening of the National Dialogue on 15 August by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Whilst the Federation appreciates legitimate concerns outlined by the Legacy Foundations and other organisations, these can and must be addressed and the Dialogue proceed as intended. If we wait for all issues; be it logistics, organisational or philosophical, to be resolved, we may find that time will simply run out.

COSATU will participate in the Dialogue as the many deep seated socio-economic challenges facing the working class, the economy and the state, are such that they require the mobilisation of the entirety of society, including business to resolve.

The Federation will sharply raise the many crises affecting workers from a dangerously high unemployment rate of 43.1% and stubborn levels of poverty, endemic crime and corruption, as well as stagnant economic growth, and struggling public and municipal services. Attention must be paid to the still prevalent effects of apartheid and colonial induced inequalities, as well as the explosion of hate speech and racial incitement on social media and its effect on fraying of our social fabric and our collective efforts to build a non-racial and non-sexist society that belongs to all who live in it, Black and White.

These existential threats to South Africa and the many gains we have won since 1994 through government led by the African National Congress, require bold and progressive solutions. Business as usual approaches and misguided notions of neo-liberalism, let alone reckless austerity budget cuts, will not fix any of them, in fact they will worsen already fragile situations.

It is critical that the Organising Committees of the Dialogue are mindful at all times that the state has limited resources available for a dialogue and workers do not take kindly to reports of large amounts of funding being sought for it whilst hospitals experience dire shortages of nurses, police stations lack working vehicles and Home Affairs experiences long queues due to aging IT infrastructure.

Whilst the Presidency is correct to push forward with the convening of the launch of the National Dialogue, it will do well to hear the skepticism of many, including workers, who correctly ask what the Dialogue will achieve and how will we ensure that it does not follow the same route of similar reviews and discussions previously held, including former President Kgalema Mothlanthe's High Level Panel Review that concluded in 2019 and was left to gather dust in Parliament. Most importantly society, especially the unemployed, the working and middle classes, expect to see concrete actions emanating from this Dialogue and to see their daily lives improve.

COSATU will endeavour to play its part in not only ventilating the lived realities of the working class, and crafting progressive and sober solutions, but also in holding government, business and other stakeholders accountable for their part in implementing the proposed action plans. Ultimately the Dialogue must help put South Africa back firmly on the path to renewal, moral regeneration, inclusive economic growth, a capacitated developmental state, and a better life for all.

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)Mobile: 082 785 0687Email: [email protected]