The establishment of the broad-based steering committee to oversee and guide the National Dialogue is expected to be finalised in the next two weeks.

The National Dialogue’s first national convention at the University of SA’s main campus in Pretoria on Saturday could not finalise constituting the steering committee.

Mandisa Khanyile, a member of the convention organising committee, said some formations or sectors are not yet ready to make a decision regarding who they are going to have as their steering committee nominees

“What we have decided to do is that we are going to allow a period of two weeks post this convening for those sectors to make that decision,” she said.

Khanyile added that sectors should provide two or three nominees for the steering committee or one of its subcommittees. She said organisations and sectors will meet over the next two weeks and include not just people present during the national convention.

“There was a complaint that there were people who are not in this room, that we haven’t had access to, this is the time to bring them into the conversation,” Khanyile explained.

She said the organising committee wanted the process to be made public.

“If you are going to, for example, have a meeting, that meeting must be available for people online who want to join so that they can see the transparency within the process,” Khanyile added.

She clarified that this is a 100% voluntary engagement. “No one is going to get remunerated for their time. You will not be paid to do this work.

“It is going to be up to you and your organisation and your personal pocket how you fund your participation in this process,” said Khanyile, adding that involvement will be based on ability to participate without necessarily needing compensation.

The Rastafari Nation Council representing 26 organisations of Rastafarians and seven orders of the Church of His Majesty or the churches of Rastafari opposed capping the number of steering committee members at 50.

A representative of the council from Limpopo said half of the social or civil society movements present at the national convention are already speaking on behalf of the process and there is overrepresentation on their side.

“We have a National Assembly of 400 people, so it shouldn’t be a problem having a steering committee as widely representative as possible than to be limiting it to a particular number,” the Rastafari council representative stated.

He explained that as long as there is broad representation and inclusivity, they will be happy with that.

The Rastafaris claim to be a significant minority of about three million in South Africa.

“We would like to humbly request that we be defined as Rastafari, not grouped with faith-based communities, not grouped with any other groupings because faith plays a smaller role within that. We are also one of the communities which are very much historically marginalised,” the representative added.

loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za

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