If you want to dine with President Ramaphosa at the Presidential Gala Dinner, you’ll have to pay R200 000

According to the ANC’s Progressive Business Forum, businesspeople who want to sit next to Cyril Ramaphosa at the ANC Presidential Gala Dinner could pay between R95 000 and R200 000.

The forum has organised the event for December 15 at Nasrec in Johannesburg.

Additional “subscription packages” are available on the PBF’s website, ranging from R5 500 per year for small and medium-sized businesses to R65 000 for large corporations.

Access to “ministerial briefings,” “international trade missions,” “participation in round table discussions,” and “exclusive dinners with ANC leaders” is included in the subscription.

The build-up to the conference has been marred by allegations that Ramaphosa amassed millions of dollars in unaccounted-for US dollars at his Limpopo farm, Phala Phala.

The previous conference was also marred by the CR17 donations and bank statements scandal.
The PBF is “mandated to promote and enhance liaison between the government, the ANC, and business,” according to a foreword on the website by ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile.

Mashatile cited Ramaphosa’s February 2020 State of the Nation Address, in which the president stated, ” Let us frankly admit that the government cannot solve our economic challenges alone.”

Mashatile wrote, “With these words, the president invites business to partner with the ANC government, united to confront the realities of the present-day South Africa and to resolve them by ‘placing the economy on a path of inclusive growth’.

“I encourage all entrepreneurs, business representatives, and people of South Africa to become part of the social compact with business, to resolve the challenges of our country together, and to ensure that we harness our greatest strengths for the future we can achieve.”

A “silver” subscription for small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMME) “with one or two staff busy establishing itself offering invitations to ministerial briefings and business matchmaking opportunities” is also available for R5500.

The R10,000 “gold” package is designed for a “slightly larger SMME with two or more staff and with a slightly more established infrastructure requiring to establish contacts and a name for itself.

Its subscription (includes) all the benefits of the previous subscription level but also offering participation in international trade missions”.

The R15 000 platinum subscription is for a “well-established SMME with three or more staff requiring to upskill staff and with the ability to expand opportunities abroad”.
The R33 000 diamond subscription is bespoke for corporates with staff and several subsidiaries and “growing its name recognition and potential to reach out to decision-makers”.
And the R65 000 honorary “most senior level of” subscription, is tailored for businesses with a “well-established network of ancillary businesses and subsidiaries”.

Attendees would have to pay between R95 000 and R200 000 to rub shoulders with the president, as dinner and breakfast are not included in the annual packages.

Sipho Mbele, the convener of the forum, did not respond to requests and reminders for comment.
When contacted for comment, Cape Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Dean le Grange stated that the Chamber will not be commenting on the matter.

According to Dr. Andile Ntsondo, secretary of the Eastern Cape Chamber of Business, the packages are only for multi-millionaires and billionaires.

Main Image: President Cyril Ramaphosa/ News24

The post If you want to dine with President Ramaphosa at the Presidential Gala Dinner, you’ll have to pay R200 000 appeared first on Entertainment SA - South African Entertainment News, Celebrity and Lifestyle Online Magazine & Entertainment.