The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation today received presentations from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on the Structural Bilateral Mechanism with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and on whether the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is living up to its mandate, especially regarding peace and security in the region.
The committee welcomed the R30 million in humanitarian relief assistance to be provided by South Africa to the DRC after the eruption of the volcano in Goma, which left a trail of death and destruction in the region.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Supra Mahumapelo, commented that almost US$900 million of goods are exported from South Africa to the DRC. He further enquired from the department if an analysis has been done on who is benefitting from these exports. He said: “In order to build a non-racial and prosperous South Africa for all who live in it, the department must provide an analysis on which racial groups benefitted from these exports.”
The committee also asked the department about the South Africa/DRC Bilateral Agreement, which includes cooperation on the Grand INGA Dam project. However, since 2017 the ministerial and technical committees have not met, due to the 2018 DRC elections and World Bank’s decision to pull out of financing of the project. The committee requested details on the World Bank’s decision and its consequences on the multilateral bodies affected by it. The INGA 3 project is expected to generate 11 500 megawatts of electricity and give rise to other investment opportunities for South Africa and the region.
One of the committee’s major concerns is whether the department is satisfied that it can deal with peace and security matters in the SADC. The department responded by saying that South Africa is the Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. Furthermore, South Africa has responded timeously to neighbouring countries, such as during the uprisings in Eswatini and the insurgence in Mozambique.
The committee called for a proper security analysis by early 2022 of the insurgency and suspected ISIS involvement in the Uganda attacks.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Sureshinee Govender
Parliamentary Communication Services
Tel: 021 403 2239
Cell: 081 704 1109
E-mail: sugovender@parliament.gov.za
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