President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to ensuring that the costs of the National Dialogue are kept down.

Speaking at the National Convention taking place in Pretoria, the president is adamant that he will not allow the amount of R740 million that was presented as costs for the process to be used.

He has thanked the University of South Africa for offering its facilities as a venue for the National Convention.

“We will be going around the country. We will desist from hiring halls, expensive halls in hotels, and so on. We will want to hold the various dialogues in schools. We will hold it in churches. We will hold them under the tree and all that. That is how we are going to bring the cost down, because the people of South Africa do not want us to be spending too much money on the conversations we are going to have,” says Ramaphosa.

[WATCH] President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially opened the first National Convention at UNISA’s Great Hall in Pretoria, addressing more than 1,000 delegates from across South African society. For more, SABC News reporter Natasha Phiri is at the convention. pic.twitter.com/tJnejyeoRT

— SABC News (@SABCNews) August 15, 2025