Dialogue must lead to delivery

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national dialogue on 10 June, my first thought was: let it not be another performance. Not another grand event with speeches and platitudes while communities remain without clean water, without jobs, without safety, and without hope.

I’ve spent more than 60 years walking side by side with community leaders, mostly women, who are changing lives in the harshest conditions. I’ve seen firsthand what can be done when people care, truly care, with their hands, hearts, and lives. Now, the people in power must do the same.

If we are serious about dialogue, it must lead to delivery.

Trim the fat. Serve the people.

Our country cannot afford a bloated Cabinet and underperforming members of Parliament. We need fewer people, but smarter, more committed ones, individuals who see public service as a calling, not a luxury.

The waste is outrageous: Parliamentarians enjoy free food; the finest wines; lavish housing; overseas trips; and luxury cars in both Cape Town and Pretoria, all on the taxpayers’ backs. Those millions must go to infrastructure, health, and education, where they are desperately needed. And those perks must stop.

We need teachers who care more about their pupils than their cars or clothes. We have newly qualified doctors sitting at home because there are no posts. This is a national disgrace. Where is our money going?

The opening of Parliament should no longer be a spectacle of materialism and excess. It should be a sober reflection of duty.

Stop the corruption. Deliver on promises.

No more contracts for friends and family. No more kickbacks. No more hiding behind red tape and empty words. Every mayor must be held accountable, and delivery must be tracked and transparent. Most importantly, communities must be consulted. Their lived realities should guide priorities, not political ambitions.

Address what truly matters.

We must treat gender-based violence as the national crisis it is. The care and development of boys, and the example set by men, must be part of the solution.

We must respect our elders, and act on the extensive research, including from Ikamva Labantu, that shows the depth of elder abuse in our country. Our seniors must be supported and protected.

Rural areas must receive focused investment. That’s the only way to reduce the desperate migration of people, often unskilled and unprepared, to overcrowded cities.

The South Africa I want

I want to live in a South Africa where children thrive, elders are safe, and leaders are accountable; where public service is humble, not glamorous; where government listens before it acts; and where each of us gives, not only when convenient, but because it’s necessary.

Let this national dialogue not be a talking point. Let it be a turning point.

• Helen Lieberman is the founder of non-governmental organisation Ikamva Labantu, and has worked for more than six decades alongside township communities, advocating for dignity, equity, and grassroots leadership.