The ANC’s highest decision-making body, the NEC, has resolved to employ quiet diplomacy in the ongoing tensions with the United States.
This is according to NEC leaders who told Sunday World about the discussions in their meeting at the Birchwood Hotel, Boksburg, this weekend.
Diplomatic ties between the two nations have been rocked by ructions following US President Donald Trump opposition to the Expropriation Act.
Rasool was expelled from the U.S.
The height of the diplomatic bickering was the expulsion of South Africa ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool. He has since returned to South Africa leaving the post vacant.
The NEC members agreed unanimously that Rasool had been “out of order” with his remarks that triggered his expulsion. The former ambassador fingered Trump as the poster boy of US white supremacy.
In his opposition to the Expropriation Act, the US statesman has gone as far as offering refuge for Afrikaners dissatisfied with South Africa’s transformation policies in the “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave”.
NEC warned that the U.S. is vital to South Africa’s economic prospects
This weekend, the party was told about the importance of mending Pretoria’s relationship with Washington. This without sacrificing the country’s independence.
The NEC was told that the government should not rush to send representatives to the US. It should instead wait for the name of the new US ambassador to South Africa to be formally revealed. This week, Trump nominated 69-year-old pro-Israel activist Leo Brent Bozell III for the role.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula spoke to the media on the sidelines of the NEC meeting. He said while the party is willing to resolve issues between the two nations, it should not be at the cost of South Africa’s autonomy.
South Africa not for sale
“We cannot capitulate on things that are not clear. But if we were to capitulate on selling our sovereignty. The ANC will stand against that because it borders on imperialist aggression.”
He further said South Africa is against attempts to take away the freedoms “we fought hard for as a nation”.
Mbalula also noted that trade relations between the two nations cannot collapse because of a false narrative.
Mbalula says SA can persuade Trump
“If Donald Trump, as the president of America, and his administration can sit with South Africa to understand where this act comes from and open diplomatic channels, he will understand. But for them to act as policemen over us is nothing else but neocolonialism,” he said.
NEC insiders said everyone in the meeting agreed that South Africa must take a cautious approach in dealing with the US. Especially given the large-scale trade relations between the two countries.
Megaphone diplomacy proved unfeasible, as it was the strategy that brought Rasool into disrepute.
Confrontation will not work for us
If loud diplomacy worked for the US, the NEC members agreed that South Africa, the vulnerable of the two, should not follow suit.
“The reality that everyone appreciates is that South Africa is heavily dependent on the US economically. If they invoke sanctions, we will suffer a great deal,” said a senior NEC member.
“Everyone agrees that we must employ quiet diplomacy while working to send envoys and diplomatic missions to strengthen trade with other strategic partners like Russia, India and China, who are part of the Brics+ bloc.”
Another leader said pushing trade with Brics countries to the level of SA-US trade would set South Africa on a path where it will be able to tell the US where to get off.
Patience the name of the game
“So that is a process that requires patience and time. We need to get to the level of imports and exports with China, India and Russia before we have the bravado to be buoyant against the US. For now, we must be strategic because we have more to lose if this situation is allowed to reach a point of no return.”
The NEC decision will be communicated publicly when ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his closing address.
