President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday expressed confidence with the establishment of the National Dialogue steering committee and assured that there will be no disruption in the processes to follow.

He explained that the National Dialogue process had reached a “pivotal stage” with the completion of the nomination of sectoral representatives to the National Dialogue steering committee.

However, he said work was underway to establish a fully-fledged National Dialogue secretariat, housed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, which he said would provide institutional support to the process.

Once approved by the President, the National Dialogue steering committee will coordinate the roll-out of public dialogues across the country. It is expected that the process of appointing the steering committee will be concluded in the coming weeks.

The first sitting of precursor to the National Dialogue, the National Convention, held in August, in Pretoria, got off to a rocky start with some legacy foundations and political parties withdrawing from the National Dialogue Preparatory Task Team (PTT).

Ramaphosa noted, however, that the first National Convention approved the mandate, responsibilities and composition of the National Dialogue steering committee, and agreed that each of the identified sectors would hold consultations to decide on nominees to serve on the steering committee and its subcommittees.

He said it was important that the momentum that had been built up and the expectations that had been raised were not allowed to dissipate.

He said no less than 26 sectors had to date submitted nominations for the National Dialogue steering committee.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, explained that the list of nominated steering committee members has been handed over to the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) for quality assurance.

“For its part, the EPG will submit its recommendations to the President in his role as head of State and convener of the National Dialogue for finalisation,” Magwenya said.

In July, Ramaphosa appointed an EPG, comprising leading figures in society, who he said reflected South Africa’s diversity, and who had a proven commitment to the advancement of social cohesion and nation-building.

He noted that the EPG must guide and champion the National Dialogue, explaining that they were expected to critically consider the progress and the conduct of the National Dialogue, and provide advice where correction was required.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa extended gratitude to the committees involved in the organisation of the National Dialogue.

“As a country, we owe a great debt of gratitude to the members of the Convention Organising Committee (COC). Working with the EPG and the Inter-Ministerial Committee, the COC made sure that hundreds of delegates from around the country were able to gather at the National Convention to endorse and to launch the National Dialogue. Through a truly collective effort, the National Convention proceeded smoothly and gave people from all sectors an opportunity to express themselves,” said Ramaphosa.

He also pointed out the role of legacy foundations and other civil society organisations in the National Dialogue PTT, which he said was instrumental in getting the National Dialogue off the ground.

He explained that the EPG, the Inter-Ministerial Committee and the Presidency would remain custodians of the process’s integrity and would continue to “safeguard its credibility” until it was handed over to the National Dialogue steering committee.

Ramaphosa has received the Handover Report of the COC and the Report on the National Convention, ending the mandate of the COC.