Yet another government of national unity (GNU) scrap hit the headlines this week over the signing of an accord between South Africa and Ukraine to grant a visa waiver for diplomatic passports.
Tension has been building between the ANC and the DA — the two biggest partners in the GNU — after President Cyril Ramaphosa described Russia as a “friend and an ally” at the recent Brics summit in Kazan, Russia.
DA minister Leon Schreiber this week announced his “signing of a historic agreement granting visa-free access” to Ukrainian holders of diplomatic, official and service passports. He called Ukraine a “valued ally” and “valued friend”.
It was an odd statement from a minister whose portfolio is home affairs, not foreign affairs, and sparked an unseemly social media exchange between him and Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya.
At the heart of the animosity is a battle for control of the narrative around the GNU; both the ANC and the DA believe they are entitled to take decisions without the other and push their own agendas in their various departments.
The GNU needs to urgently develop a medium-term development framework — then parties can compete on how well they implement it. But this process has been delayed and the plan for the government over the next five years is now set to be finalised only in January.
Minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni tells the FM that the visa agreement between South Africa and Ukraine is the culmination of negotiations that began in 2020.
South Africa heads the African group of leaders seeking to end the war between Russia and Ukraine — having easy access to both countries for its diplomats is crucial for mediation efforts.
Forget about the ANC’s relationship with Russia, as a government now we are part of the Brics countries and as such you cannot say Russia is not our ally. Russia is our ally
— Khumbudzo Ntshavheni
Ntshavheni suggests that Schreiber’s comments were in direct response to Ramaphosa’s remarks on Russia. South Africa has professed a nonaligned stance in the war between Russia and Ukraine and has pushed for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
“South Africa is in an alliance with Russia because of Brics,” Ntshavheni says.
“Forget about the ANC’s relationship with Russia, as a government now we are part of the Brics countries and as such you cannot say Russia is not our ally. Russia is our ally,” she says.
“Brics countries control 40% of the global economy. And with the new members coming in and new partners, Brics countries are going to be controlling 60% of the global economy.”
South Africa’s foreign policy straddles both sides of the global divide, the north and the south, but it is not always as sophisticated at navigating that fine line as a country such as India is.
This has been complicated by the GNU. Political strategist Ryan Coetzee, who was part of the DA’s negotiation team for the GNU, tweeted this week: “The ANC wants to be able to continue unfettered, as if it hasn’t lost its majority, and the DA is not available for that.
“It’s not going to get better unless and until the ANC accepts that it needs to discuss and negotiate decisions, not simply try [to] impose them. That is the will of the people expressed through an election.”
It’s not going to get better unless and until the ANC accepts that it needs to discuss and negotiate decisions, not simply try [to] impose them
— Ryan Coetzee
The situation places both parties in an invidious position as they try to outmanoeuvre each other in an effort to impress voters, many of whom don’t yet see a positive impact from the pact.
Schreiber may have jumped the gun on the Ukraine visa issue: the signing of the agreement requires a presidential waiver, which Ramaphosa has not provided as yet.
Ntshavheni says: “We needed to put a scheme together that will allow South African holders of diplomatic passports and official passports to travel through because they are envoys.”
She adds that South Africa is helping with Ukrainian children who have gone missing.
“That’s how we ended up with a list of the missing Ukrainian children, the prisoners of war … It’s us who also provided that information because we could talk with both Ukraine and Russia,” Ntshavheni says.
“That’s why every time we go to the UN General Assembly, our president meets with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky. We’re mediating. We are leading the African delegation. And you can’t say to a country ‘I want my official passports to be recognised’, and you don’t recognise the passports of that country. It’s called reciprocity.”
She says Schreiber’s move might have been intended to undermine South Africa’s relationship with Russia, but will not have that effect.
“If you think you’re going to [jeopardise] our relationship with Russia by doing that, think again,” she says.
As the GNU partners battle it out, South Africans are keenly watching — at this stage, it is difficult to say which party is better at controlling the narrative, but what’s easy to see is that neither has the interests of South Africans at heart.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.