Court gives green light for National Dialogue to go ahead
The court has dismissed the Labour Party's court bid to halt President Cyril Ramaphosa's dialogue.
The party approached the court, accusing government of driving an unconstitutional and wasteful process.
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• Committee working on National Dialogue looks to bring projected R700m cost down
It was seeking an urgent interdict to stop the dialogue before its first national convention next month.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that the Labour Party did not meet the legal threshold for an interim interdict.
They had argued that the National Dialogue duplicated existing structures like Parliament and NEDLAC.
It called the process irrational, exclusionary and a costly exercise that ignores the working class.
The state and the foundations running the dialogue defended it as a constitutionally permissible effort by the president to foster national unity, citing his duties under section 83.
The court agreed, finding the dialogue rationally connected to that duty, also noting that its R700 million projected cost was not yet final.
The dialogue will now proceed in August as planned, while the Labour Party pursues a full constitutional challenge.
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