Pep Talks or Progress? Time to Upskill, Not Just Talk

My Beloved Nation

As the Mother of the Nation, I write this with a heavy heart. South Africa does not need more talk. We already know the problems; unemployment, a broken justice system, collapsing infrastructure. What we need are bold solutions, not endless dialogues.

My questions to the South African National Dialogue are these:

• The violent service delivery protests across the country; have they not spoken loudly enough?
  
• The collapsing infrastructure in state hospitals; is this not dialogue in itself?
  
• The closure of 155 companies between January and July 2025; does this not demand urgent attention?
  
• With unemployment at 62.2 % and youth unemployment above 50%; is this not already dialogue?
  
• The lack of funding for NPOs; has this not been raised enough?
  
• The conditions in Khayelitsha, Vusimuzi, and other informal settlements; are these not a powerful enough message/dialogue?

These are just a few of the well-known problems that have been screaming at a deaf system in South Africa.

According to a Daily Investor report, the National Dialogue is estimated to cost R450 million, with R270 million funded by taxpayers and R180 million by the private sector. This is an exorbitant amount. Who benefits? Certainly not the public; but the convenors, who will likely profit handsomely while South Africa sees no real change. The initial two-day convenor event alone was budgeted at R20 million! An outrageous sum for a Nation in crisis.

According to the Business Report,  155 companies closed between January and July 2025. The National Dialogue is a slap in the face to unemployed South Africans. It is a financial benefit for a select few convenors. Instead of enriching a few convenors , this money could have been used to rescue the 155 companies that closed between January and July 2025, preserving jobs and creating new opportunities for unemployed citizens.

The closure of 155 major companies; and likely many more, as this is just the tip of the iceberg;  is deeply heartbreaking. We can estimate that over 7 million people lost their jobs in South Africa between January and July 2025. Yet, while millions suffer, a handful of National Dialogue organisers are enriched at the expense of taxpayers, struggling private companies, and the unemployed.

South Africa is home to young, innovative entrepreneurs and inventors who are full of potential but struggle to turn their ideas into reality due to limited access to capital, bureaucratic red tape, and corruption. The R20 million spent on the National Dialogue’s initial two-day event could have been invested in small and medium enterprises, particularly in township businesses. It could also have funded TVET colleges to provide skills training, helping to alleviate poverty and drive economic growth.

What country are we living in? A Nation where the problems such as gender-based economic inequalities are widely known, yet there are audacities in spending millions on mere pep talks! At AbafaziPhambili, we have received  24,000 phone calls from job seekers .This number could be higher, as we no longer record the statistics of people calling us in search of employment.

My questions?

Will the National Dialogue be effective in addressing these crushing job losses and company closures? Will it offer real solutions to mitigate unemployment and foster economic growth?, or is it merely a platform to advance specific agendas? or to bankroll feminist purses? Will it confront the broader economic crisis?

Conclusion

The National Dialogue’s ability to deliver meaningful outcomes remains uncertain. The future feels uncertain for South Africa. My view: every cent wasted on this pep talk should instead be redirected toward upskilling the unemployed and repairing our broken systems.