Where is Ronald Lamola during the diplomatic rows in which South Africa is the central point?
This question is more relevant to ask because his predecessor, Dr Naledi Pandor, was everywhere like the holy spirit when RSA was called upon to rise to the occasion in the world of diplomacy.
All will recall how Pandor was the dominant voice in the debate over the arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for Russian Federation head of state Wladimir Putin during a time he was meant to attend a BRICS Summit in South Africa.
It was the same Pandor whose face was everywhere when South Africa took the bold and necessary decision to drag Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Missing in Action
The comparison might appear unfair, but it is necessary to drive home the point sought to be made in this piece that Lamola is wet behind his ears for the responsibility that has been placed on his soldiers.
South Africa has been embroiled in massive diplomatic fallouts in the past few weeks, and except for sporadic comments here and there, our foreign affairs minister is largely missing in action.
His absence is not a reflection on Lamola’s inefficiencies as a politician but a sign of inexperience in a space where experience is priceless.
Amateur in a portfolio that requires experience
Bar the fact that he is young in a space of conservatives, he also enters the diplomatic terrain as an amateur.
Lamola served just one term as minister of justice and constitutional development, his first job in public service at national level.
Making him jump from that straight to the fire that is the diplomatic space was a serious miscalculation, and he is getting exposed.
Pandor served in the position on her way out into retirement after decades of public service as minister in multiple portfolios.
At her age and experience, it was easy for her peers to listen to what she says. And most of them, even from seasoned bullies like the US, saw her as their equal.
With Lamola, it is different. Because it is most likely that whenever his name is raised in diplomatic circles of the big boys, the question “who is that?” is most likely very popular.
Treading carefully
But his situation is worsened by the fact that as a young, up and coming, and promising politician to reach the pinnacle of political office domestically, he will be careful not to step on the wrong toes at the international level.
This is so much so because of South Africa’s strategic importance in the global space and the influence and interest of global forces on who leads South Africa.
Simply put, Lamola was set up to fail by the powers that be in the ANC who decided to deploy him in that position.
In the corridors of political discourse, senior ANC cadres are whispering in admission that placing Lamola at foreign affairs was a gross miscalculation.
Too young for the position
“Lamola is too young for that position. There we have been caught in this wrong idea that pushing young people to swell the ranks of political leaderships applies to everywhere. It does not,” said the senior leader.
“The diplomacy space is a conservative community that believes in eldership. Here with Ozzy (Lamola), we are repeating the mistake we committed in KZN by getting (Bheki) Mtolo and (Siboniso) Duma to lead a province that is very conservative. It backfired very badly.
“You cannot juniorise the diplomatic space. That is why the person who could be listened to by the whole world is a seasoned comrade like Naledi (Pandor). Lamola is drowning because he is too young.”
A look into the BRICS group of countries bears testimony that Lamola, 41, falls far behind his counterparts. Not only with age, but worse with experience in the diplomatic circles.
BRICS peers are way older than him
Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, 74, is not only serving his second stint in the position. He has formal training in diplomacy.
Vieira is also a career diplomat who has been operating in the space since before Lamola was born.
Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, 74, has been in the position since 2004. He also received formal training in diplomacy from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the 1970s.
For India, their Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, 70, is a career diplomat with experience of approximately 40 years serving in different capacities.
China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi, 71, who has been in the post since 2023, has served in the same post between 2013 and 2022.
