South Africa is once again preparing for a national moment of reflection through the national dialogue, a process championed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen democracy and bring citizens together.
The initiative is expected to unfold through thousands of engagements countrywide, with the stated aim of fostering unity.
This intention is not misplaced; the country is fragmented, trust in institutions is low, and the social contract feels increasingly strained. But there is a growing risk that this process misunderstands the depth of the crisis. South Africa is not only divided, but it is also losing its sense of itself.
The shift has been gradual, but it is now unmistakable. Public discourse is hardening; political identity is being shaped less by material reality and more by anger, grievance and ideological performance. Increasingly, South Africans are not engaging one another to solve problems; they are retreating into opposing camps to win arguments.
The result is a political culture that begins to mirror the worst excesses of the US: permanent outrage, cultural warfare and deep institutional distrust. This is not a trajectory South Africa can afford to follow.
Our reality is far more fragile. Inequality is deeper, institutions weaker, and historical wounds unresolved. Yet instead of confronting these realities, the country is importing ideological battles that distract from lived experience. In doing so it is abandoning the idea of a shared national project.
The “Rainbow Nation” persists as an idea but not as lived reality. A national identity cannot be built on symbolism alone; it requires shared priorities and a common understanding of fact. That consensus is eroding despite that South Africans are largely aligned on fundamentals.
The country’s core crises are clear: crime and economic stagnation. Violent crime remains staggering, with 70 murders recorded daily, and unemployment remains structurally high, with the official rate at 32.9% and the expanded rate above 43%.
Political discourse ignores core crises
Alongside this are a cost-of-living crisis, failing public services and persistent corruption. These are the realities that define South African life. Yet they are not what dominates political discourse.
Instead, the public sphere is pulled towards distortion from factually unsupported narratives to performative activism that prioritises moral signalling over material change. The result is a breakdown of shared reality. And without shared reality, there can be no shared identity.
This is where the national dialogue falls short. It assumes the problem is communication. It is not. South Africa does not lack awareness. It lacks alignment, accountability, and consequence. The country has spoken before through commissions, summits and consultations. The failure has been in what follows. Without consequence, dialogue becomes performance.
What is required is a national reckoning. The Truth & Reconciliation Commission established a framework for confronting apartheid, but it left gaps in accountability and failed to address the full structural legacy. That is why we need a second, reimagined process that must go further, confronting not only the past but also the failures of the democratic era: corruption, crime and institutional collapse.
That is what the national dialogue must become. It is not only about policy, but also about identity. A country that cannot agree on basic facts cannot build a shared future. A society consumed by competing fictions cannot sustain democracy.
South Africa does not need another conversation. It needs a moment of clarity, one that anchors the country in truth, demands accountability, and begins to rebuild a shared sense of purpose. Without that reckoning, the fragmentation will deepen, and the idea of democratic South Africa as a collective project will continue to erode.
• Roos is a Business Day parliamentary reporter.
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