By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Professor Sydney Mufamadi says there is an understanding between South Africa (SA) and the United States (US) to align their actions in such a way that it can “move the needle in the right direction”.
Mufamadi led the special envoy that was sent by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the US several weeks ago to engage the country’s diplomatic leaders on “an exchange of ideas”.
US ambassador Reuben Brigety said on Thursday he was confident that a Russian ship under U.S. sanctions took abroad weapons from the Simon’s Town base in December, suggesting the transfer was not in line with Pretoria’s stance of neutrality in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The presence of the mysterious ‘Lady R’ cargo vessel caused significant speculation when it docked at the naval base in Simon’s Town. Cargo vessels routinely dock at Cape Town’s civilian harbor, not the naval base.
Brigety, had since “admitted that he crossed a line” and “apologised unreservedly” after he said a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa.
Department of International Relations (DIRCO) head of public diplomacy Clayson Monyela opened a media briefing by Mufamadi, who recently led a SA delegation to America, DIRCO Director-General Zane Dangor and Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana were also part of the briefing.
Mufamadi confirmed that the US had alerted the South Africa weeks ago, even before the US envoy trip, about the Lady R vessel and allegations of weapons sold to Russia.
He said when they became aware of the US-sanctioned vessel that docked in Simoms Town before they travelled to the US.
Mufamadi took a swipe at Brigety, by referencing the damage caused by “megaphone diplomacy”.
“We are acting on this matter, not because we understand the consternation of our friends in the US but because it’s within our own interest to understand what happened; these are issues we are looking at,” he said.
Dangor said it is important to note that “no concrete evidence” in relation to the Lady R saga was presented to the SA delegation – but says intelligence authorities have indicated that they will share such evidence with the independent investigation.
Mufamadi said Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint an inquiry headed by a retired judge to probe the US claims has “precedence” and is “critical”. He adds that Rampahosa has to act based on well-informed advise and the inquiry will provide him with that perspective.
He explained that the envoys spoke with the US on UN issues regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict and South Africa’s controversial voting decisions of choosing not to vote or abstaining on resolutions to condemn Russia invasion of Ukraine.
South Africa was one of 35 countries that abstained from a vote condemning Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
North Korea, Belarus, Syria, Nicaragua and Russia itself were the only countries that voted against the resolution. It was passed after 143 countries voted in favour of it.
Earlier this year, South Africa and others abstained from voting on a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.
Mufamadi says the SA envoys spent time discussing social differences which could contribute to tensions between the US and South Africa. He said the key to this were issues of national interest from both countries.
He added that they have reaffirmed their relationship with the US and that it should be handled with care for the sake of both respective countries and for the “sake of the world”.
Mufamadi says that issues that “caused consternation” on the part of both SA and the USA were addressed.
The SA envoys also met with US intelligence agencies. He adds that they spent time looking at some of the issues that had cost consternation among the US and SA, but also geo-political issues on the international stage.
There is currently a US draft bill written by a minority caucus in the US House which seeks to punish SA for its cushioned relationship with Russia. Some of the Bill’s proposals include blocking aid and trade with SA including on the AGOA matter.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says AGOA being jeopardised will have an impact on SA’s financial flows.
Godongwana says the US claims of weapons sold to Russia is not new and he says the government had long decided to appoint an inquiry to probe the claims in line with when Ramaphosa decided to appoint a special envoy to the US.
Mufumadi added, that the AGOA deal should not be minimised to the costs of rands and cents. He says the cost of loss is beyond SA and may impact world companies that use the deal as a gateway to access markets on the continent.
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Video Courtesy of SABC.