SA’S FOREIGN POLICY WILL REMAIN “UNCHANGED”, DIRCO’S MORAKA SAYS

DIRCO’S Deputy Minister Ms Thandi Moraka has echoed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s steadfast position that SA’s foreign policy remains unchanged in spite of the advent of the Government of National Unity (GNU). “South Africa’s foreign policy hasn’t changed and there is no appetite whatsoever to change it for whatever interest,” Ms Moraka said during an exclusive interview with online news site Global South Media Network (GSMN) in Sochi, Russia.

She was speaking at the conclusion of the First Ministerial Meeting of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum that was attended by Africa’s foreign affairs ministers or their representatives. They were hosted by Russia’s top envoy Sergey Lavrov for two days, from 9-10 November.

Ms Moraka elaborated as follows: “The situation of us having to be in the Government of National Unity doesn’t suggest that there would be any policy change whatsoever – up until cabinet meetings resolve on the need for those policies to be changed, especially the foreign policy of South Africa. We can’t from time to time willy-nilly change the foreign policy of South Africa because of certain political parties are calling for a particular change to our foreign policy.”

She continued: “This foreign policy has been at the backdrop of what Africa’s Agenda 2063 has been all about. Central to our foreign policy is the whole issue of Pan-Africanism and anti-imperialism. We will continue to make sure that we protect South Africa’s foreign policy as it is, and we don’t need to change it for whatsoever reason.”

Seemingly trusting in the impact of the ANC and leftist parties in parliament, Ms Moraka threw down the gauntlet: “If there’s anyone who want to change it, let them bring it through government processes, through cabinet committees that are there within the government arrangement of South Africa so that we can discuss at length at the level of cabinet committees whether there’s a need for us to change a particular section of our foreign policy.” As it stands now,” she argued, “there is no appetite whatsoever to change it.”