By Simon Nare
Former president Thabo Mbeki has questioned the competency of President Cyril Ramaphosa government to deal with the strained diplomatic relations with the US.
Delivering the keynote address at the Aziz Pahad memorial lecture in Johannesburg on Monday, Mbeki asked why a government would allow disinformation to be communicated in another country and no action was taken.
While paying tribute to Pahad, Mbeki said the former foreign affairs deputy minister would have questioned such a practice.
Mbeki wanted to know how the government was failing to explain its foreign policy.
He said mischaracterisation of the country by the Afrikaans group AfriForum should not have been left unchallenged and the silence has sent a negative message about the white genocide claimed by the group.
Mbeki said no government would have allowed such a falsehood to spread.
“On behalf of Aziz, let me ask some robust questions, does DIRCO (Department of International Relations and Cooperations) understand the world in which it engages international relations for the people of South Africa?
“Does it have the internal capacity to develop this understanding? And in practice what it has done practically to get this understanding?” Mbeki asked.
Mbeki criticised US President Donald Trump’s administration for its foreign policy in Africa and asked if the decision and executive orders he was implementing were well advised.
Mbeki said it appeared that there was no foreign policy with the Trump administration and questioned whether his moves were ill formed given his position in his first term.
He said there should be an intelligence report concerning Africa that should inform the US president.
Mbeki added that a report by the previous administration had indicated that the world superpower must have clear policy on Africa.
Mbeki said it was not clear what the Trump administration was planning regarding the continent, but Africa should have a plan for the way forward considering the US’s position.
Addressing the same lecture, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said the government continued to value the mutual beneficial trade relations with the US.
He added that the country would continue to reach out to the US to amend relations.
“I know that there is a yearning from some… to show that we’re courageous, we should be trading insults with countries, ignoring all the firm and courageous positions we’ve taken on progressive internationalism.
“We’re practicing diplomacy; we’re not in the business of trading insults with anyone in the world. We will remain firm on our principled positions, we will continue to pursue our national interest in line with diplomatic decorum, if we disagree with any country, it should not be on the basis of insults, but the substance of the matter,” he said.
INSIDE POLITICS
