Changemakers Take Centre Stage at Daily Maverick’s Gathering 2025
- Kauthar Bassadien
- Aug 31, 2025
- 6 min read
South Africa’s most urgent conversations converged at the Cape Town International Convention Centre as The Daily Maverick hosted its flagship event, The Gathering 2025: Changemakers | Impact Edition, on the 28th August 2025 in Cape Town.
The event, which has become one of the country’s most anticipated civic forums, brought together ministers, activists, innovators, journalists, and citizens under one roof. Across panels, keynotes, performances, and rapid-fire talks, the day focused on what it means to be a changemaker in a country grappling with economic fragility, inequality, corruption, and a crisis of public trust.
The atmosphere was a mix of frustration and determination, with speakers consistently returning to one theme: South Africa’s challenges are steep, but solutions exist if institutions, leaders, and communities are willing to act boldly.
Opening with Resolve
The day opened with Daily Maverick Editor-in-Chief Jillian Green, who underscored the urgency of the gathering. “This year's gathering and its theme also offer a reminder that change, when rooted in integrity and action, still is the most powerful tool that we have to shape the future,” she said. Green reminded the audience that journalism, too, is part of change-making by asking the questions those in power often avoid.
Her message framed the programme as not merely a discussion, but a collective effort to hold South Africa accountable to its democratic promise.
State of Repair: Rebuilding Institutions
The opening panel, State of Repair, set a sobering but constructive tone. Journalist Ferial Haffajee moderated a conversation with Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber, former SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, and Adv. Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba of the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Schreiber’s candour drew attention when he said due to delays, long queues, and frequent system downtime, some people had come to nickname the Department of Home Affairs as “Hell Affairs” instead of the proper “Home Affairs.” He acknowledged the widespread scepticism surrounding government reform but argued that slow, consistent wins were essential.
Kieswetter, reflecting on his tenure at SARS, emphasized that the institution's integrity is inside out. “After assessing the true state of disrepair of SARS, we knew we had to start with the soft things,” he noted.
Rabaji-Rasethaba added that asset forfeiture is one way of reclaiming stolen public funds, but it requires political will. The discussion highlighted the balance between pragmatic repair and the need for visible accountability to restore public confidence.
Justice at a Crossroads
Justice and accountability remained central throughout the day. In a rapid-fire session, Adv. Shamila Batohi, National Director of Public Prosecutions, addressed perceptions of inertia in the justice system.
“When journalists want to put out that narrative, that actually doesn't help our fight to restore the rule of law in our country...,” she said, a line that drew spontaneous applause.
This theme carried into the Striking the Rock panel, moderated by Judith February, where Lisa Vetten, Zingiswa Losi, and Brigadier Sonja Harri spoke about gender-based violence and systemic injustice.
Vetten argued that policy reforms alone were insufficient: “We cannot legislate safety into existence; we need resources and societal change.” Losi, the COSATU president, stressed labour’s role in protecting vulnerable women workers, while Brigadier Harri admitted that police failures had deepened mistrust but vowed reforms in investigative policing.
The justice-focused sessions underscored that South Africans’ confidence in the rule of law depends not on rhetoric, but visible outcomes.
Money, Machines and Inequality
The rise of artificial intelligence, digital finance, and shifting economic power was tackled in The New Rules of Money and Machines. Moderator Lindsey Schutters pressed panelists Larry Cooke (Binance Africa), Khadeeja Bassier (Ninety-One), and Bronwyn Williams (futurist) on how innovation could narrow or widen inequality.
Cooke highlighted cryptocurrency’s potential to democratise finance: “Millions of Africans are excluded from banking. Crypto is already giving them a way in.” But Bassier warned against techno-optimism: “Innovation doesn’t erase inequality unless we build safeguards. Left unchecked, it amplifies it.”
Williams added that South Africa risks being a passive recipient of global tech trends rather than a shaper of them.
The session revealed a tension that technology offers tools for inclusion, but without deliberate governance, it could deepen divides.
In a rapid-fire contribution, Alan Knott-Craig, CEO of Fibertime, made the digital divide personal. “Connectivity is not a luxury. It’s a human right, and we’re bringing it to communities left behind,” he declared, to strong applause.
Cities and Political Futures
Urban politics took centre stage in a lively discussion moderated by Stephen Grootes. Panelists Herman Mashaba (ActionSA), Songezo Zibi (Rise Mzansi), and Dr. Mmusi Maimane (BOSA) debated how South Africa’s cities are reshaping democratic participation.
Mashaba argued that local government failures fuel national instability. Zibi emphasised the importance of a new political culture: “We cannot rebuild democracy with the same political habits that destroyed it.”
Maimane, reflecting on voter disillusionment, stressed that citizens must feel empowered: “Democracy is not something done to people; it’s something done by people.”
The exchange highlighted both the fragmentation of opposition politics and the shared recognition that municipal crises reflect deeper national dysfunction.
Humour as Resistance
One of the day’s unexpected highlights came from Daily Maverick Associate Editor Marianne Thamm, who delivered a one-woman performance blending satire and storytelling.
“Let's make the promises of this constitution real, because it's all there... ,” she said, skewering corruption and political hypocrisy with sharp wit. Her performance reminded attendees that comedy can serve as both a critique and a survival mechanism.
Education on Edge
Education featured prominently in the session Education on Edge, moderated by Zukiswa Pikoli. Panelists Kentse Radebe, Grace Matlhape, and Rachel Kolisi discussed how inequality in the education system perpetuates poverty.
Radebe stressed the need for innovative teaching methods and community-based interventions. Matlhape warned that South Africa risks “a generational catastrophe” if it fails to prioritise literacy and numeracy in early education. Kolisi, drawing on her foundation’s work, argued that partnerships between NGOs and schools are essential: “If we don’t act collectively, we condemn children to inherit our failures.”
Hunger as a National Failure
The most emotional intervention of the day came from activist Mark Heywood in his keynote, The Cost of an Empty Stomach.
“Every child has the right to basic nutrition....,” he declared, his voice rising as he pointed to statistics showing millions of children have the right not to be malnourished in our country.
Heywood framed hunger as both a moral and political crisis, warning that democracy cannot survive when its citizens are starving. His call for a national food security plan earned a standing ovation and became one of the day’s most quoted lines.
Fighting Disinformation
The dangers of a distorted information ecosystem were unpacked by Kyle Findlay, co-founder of Murmur Intelligence, in Viral or Verified?
He urged South Africans to become active consumers of information: “If we don’t question what spreads fastest, we risk letting lies shape our democracy.”
Findlay’s session highlighted the risks of disinformation in upcoming elections and argued for greater digital literacy campaigns.
Journalism as Changemakers
The event closed with Behind the Story, a panel featuring Daily Maverick journalists Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Estelle Ellis, and Micah Reddy. They shared behind-the-scenes insights into investigative work that has exposed state capture, health sector failures, and corporate wrongdoing.
“Our job is not only to report, but to reveal and to show what power wants hidden,” Reddy said.
The panel demonstrated how investigative journalism remains one of South Africa’s most powerful accountability tools. As one audience member later remarked, “Their investigative work isn’t abstract; it has real consequences for our nation as a whole.”
Conclusion: Urgency and Possibility
By the day's end, one theme echoed across sessions: South Africa is at a crossroads. Hunger, corruption, inequality, and disinformation remain daunting, but changemakers across sectors are pushing back.
What emerged from The Gathering 2025 was not a catalogue of despair, but a map of possibility. From ministers and prosecutors to activists and journalists, each voice reinforced that transformation begins with courage, persistence, and accountability.
For South Africans leaving the CTICC, the challenge was clear and to transform insight into action and to ensure the changemakers on stage are joined by many more across the country.
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