The EFF is against controversial Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s proposal to sign a deal that would allow Ukrainians with diplomatic, official, and service passports to enter South Africa without a visa and vice versa.
Schreiber announced this on Sunday, highlighting that Ukraine was a valued ally and a friend to South Africa, which he says supported the country from the days of the struggle against apartheid to date.
“I am honoured to announce that, in my capacity as minister of home affairs representing the Republic of South Africa, I have signed an historic agreement granting visa-free access to our country for Ukranian holders of diplomatic, official, and services passports — and vice versa,” Schreiber wrote on social media.
Vincent Magwenya, a spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa, criticized Schreiber’s post on X.
“The president is yet to sign the minute authorising the minister to sign the agreement with Ukraine,” said Magwenya.
“It is unclear how the minister can announce the signature of an international agreement without prior formal authorisation to do so.”
Long history of ties with Russia
According to the EFF, Schneider is confused about South Africa’s alliances.
The agreement’s signing, according to EFF national spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys, will allow representatives of the Neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine to enter the country without a visa.
She emphasised that South Africa has a long history of ties with Russia that date back to the fight against apartheid and imperialism, calling this a betrayal of South Africa’s support for Russia.
Russia and South Africa are founding members of BRICS, which prioritises infrastructure and economic development in strategic areas, she said.
“Leon Schreiber’s signing of this agreement is nothing else but an attempt to undermine our relationship with Russia so as to please the Euro-Western imperialists and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s [Nato] deep-seated political agenda to expand into the eastern part of Russia using neighbouring countries such as Ukraine as proxies,” said Mathys.
“In the context of the current Russia-Ukraine war, Russia is within its rights to preemptively defend itself when its sovereignty is threatened by the encircling of its territory by foreign powers in the form of Nato, who have a history of invading and toppling sitting heads of state through military operations.”
Agreement must be rejected
According to Mathys, recent history demonstrates Nato’s vile imperialist goals, pointing to the invasion in Libya and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, which left the nation in ruins.
She also brought up the US invasion of Iraq and Saddam Hussein’s execution while ostensibly looking for weapons of mass destruction, which were never discovered.
According to her, South Africa will not be coerced into signing any deal that directly or indirectly promotes Euro-Western imperialism.
“This agreement must be rejected by all South Africans as it seeks to open flood gates for Neo-Nazi operatives to use South Africa as a base from which to process their intelligence against our ally, Russia.
“It is also a precursor of a Zionist exodus to find refuge under the pro-Zionist and racist DA government in the Western Cape.”
