Charity founder Imtiaz Sooliman and fellow Eminent Persons Group members urge South Africans to look beyond cynicism, saying the talks could be a turning point.
Gift of the Givers founder and Eminent Persons Group (EPG) member Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says he is optimistic about the National Dialogue.
He told Daily Maverick that although there was "lots of negativity and pessimism" about the proliferation of dialogues, discussions and committees set up to address the country's concerns, he was "very encouraged" because he knows "there's a willingness to help fix the system".
He noted that the legacy foundations that withdrew from the process did not pull out of the National Dialogue itself, but rather from the Preparatory Task Team (PTT) and the National Convention.
"To me that's a damn good sign," Sooliman said, adding that a difference of opinion and ideas is often a "great thing".
"When you have disagreement, when you have some 'conflict', when you have a difference of ideas, it means there's a willingness for dialogue to find a solution. So if these things didn't happen, I would've got worried," he said.
"To me, it is an excellent thing that this has happened, and now there should be a...
