Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and other Ministers with us today,
Honourable Deputy Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim,
The Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors,
High Commissioners,
Representatives of International Organisations
Invited guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
As our foreign policy approaches its 20th anniversary next year, it is critical that we fully assess the progress made in respect of our international relations agenda. It is appropriate that we evaluate the impact of our engagements against the agenda we have placed before us. In her address, our Minister did justice to that.
Honourable Chairperson,
Today, South Africa is a better place than it was 19 years ago. Our promise to create a better life for all our people is beginning to see the light of day. Changing the quality of the lives of our people has been our vision for the past 19 years. Creating more employment, reducing the levels of poverty and unemployment was and still is the cornerstone of our democracy and reason for our foreign policy.
When the African National Congress took over the reins of government in 1994, our new government was faced with multiple challenges of transformation. Today, this country has been transformed in every sphere. Today, our international relations engagements have elevated our country from a pariah state to a great nation we can all be proud of.
We have opened up economic opportunities for our people, integrated our land into the global village and played no small role in bringing peace and stability to our continent. But we also recognise the challenges that still lie ahead.
From increased levels of education, access to water, electricity, sanitation and housing, to a visionary foreign policy that is premised upon the principle that our economic prosperity as a country is intrinsically linked to the prosperity of the rest of Africa.
Over the past 19 years, we have promoted relations with strategic partners, and build formidable partnerships with like-minded states, we developed and implemented a foreign policy agenda that is founded on the principle that there can be no development and prosperity in Africa without peace and no peace and prosperity in Africa without development.
We have played our role in preventing and mediating conflicts across our continent, we have committed our resources to post-reconstruction and development on our continent. We have developed and implemented an independent and robust multilateral architecture in favour of the developing world.
We have successfully designed and implemented a foreign policy based on the principles of Ubuntu, human rights, human development and international solidarity with the developing world. Today, we can confidently say that we have made progress. Africa today is a far more peaceful (albeit the challenges) continent than it was two decades ago. In brief, this is what this great nation has achieved in the past 19 years.
Honourable Members,
The year 2013 marks the penultimate year before our country celebrates the 20th anniversary of our freedom in 2014. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the deaths of two of South Africa’s greatest patriots, democrats and diplomats – Comrades OR Tambo and Chris Hani.
It is also the 25th anniversary of the death of another great patriot, diplomat and protégé of OR Tambo – Comrade Dulcie September. It is therefore important that as we forge ahead in the implementation of our foreign policy agenda, we dedicate our achievements to these great citizens of our country.
Honourable Speaker,
The extent to which we can succeed in advancing our foreign policy is directly dependent upon the support and mandate we receive from the masses. It is common course that our foreign policy initiatives have historically been perceived as a terrain which is far removed from our communities.
This is a perception we have to dispel among our people. It is for this reason that the Public Participation Programme under the leadership of our President, and approved by Cabinet in 2010, has been fully utilised by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to debunk these misconceptions and ensure that our people are fully involved in the development and implementation of our foreign policy agenda.
We have used this space to reinforce accountability to citizens and robustly engage with them in respect of policy priorities through continuous public participation events. We have in the past three years travelled the length and breadth of this country. We have engaged and interacted with the citizens through structured meetings.
We have shared and debated our foreign policy trajectory with students, business, the elderly, our youth, non-governmental organisations and community-based organisations across all spectrums of society. We have had focussed sectoral meetings and outreach programmes with different sectors in preparation for our hosting of COP17/CMP7, the Global African Diaspora Summit and recently the Fifth Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Summit, among others.
This community and civil society engagements have brought us closer to the citizens – helping us to not only communicate our work, but to also amend and formulate international relations policy to benefit our people.
Honourable Chairperson,
This year, we intend to continue in engaging and prioritising our work with the youth, women and the unemployed citizens through outreach programmes. Just yesterday, I had a community outreach programme where I addressed the people of Cape Town about the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union (OAU/AU), outcomes of the recently concluded AU Summit as well as plans for the year-long celebrations of this anniversary.
This year, we also intend establishing BRICS community chapters which will form the basis for community empowerment by our BRICS countries within local communities. This initiative will give impetus to BRICS commitments at local, provincial and national levels.
We have also succeeded in applying similar community-based structured engagements within the Saldanha Industrial Development Zone precinct. We will, therefore, continue utilising the latest social media platforms to further enhance our approach to outreach programmes.
Honourable Chairperson,
The promotion of peace, democracy and justice on the continent comes at a cost. Our Minister has just announced the progress made thus far regarding the establishment of the South African Partnership Development Agency. Indeed, the signing of this proclamation is one more step in the right direction towards accelerating the establishment of the agency to assist the Government in pursuit of its vision of international solidarity, and a better Africa through mutual assistance as well as partnership with other development actors.
The Agency will serve as the focal point for all South Africa’s outgoing development assistance. It will provide greater policy cohesiveness, harmonisation, synergy and coordination among all spheres of government.
We believe that South Africa is uniquely placed to develop partnerships with African countries, and other partners, those from the North and South, the multilateral institutions, civil society and the private sector, in a manner that drives innovation around African developmental challenges for the creation of self-sufficient societies, reducing the need for aid and capitalising on the human and natural resource assets of Africa.
Today, Africa has become a place of real opportunity and optimism with improved regional integration, a strong continental voice, a drive towards democracy and good governance and with signs of real economic growth.
Honourable Speaker,
We have also participated fully in the resolution of conflicts in the region. Since the 2009 coup, Madagascar has been suspended from membership of both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the AU, pending restoration of a constitutional order. Our country as a member of the SADC Ministerial Committee Organ Troika as well as the chair during the period 2010 to 2011 committed itself to ensure that Madagascar implemented its Roadmap towards constitutional normalcy.
Today, we talk of a Madagascar that is preparing itself to host elections in July and September this year. For our part, we will continue to work closely with the SADC Troika on politics, defence and security cooperation in its efforts to finding lasting peace and stability through peaceful elections.
Honourable Members,
In a complex and insecure world, it is necessary that South Africa articulates and presents its foreign policy positions with a singular voice. Our department remains central in the coordination of the implementation of South Africa’s foreign policy pursuant to Cabinet’s approval in 2008 of the “Measures and Guidelines for Enhanced Coordination of South Africa’s International Engagement”.
Our success in securing the release of Prof. Cyril Karabus is an example of an expression of this mandate. In the past few months, we had intense negotiations with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to secure the release of Prof. Karabus, who was arrested in August 2012 at the Dubai International Airport while on transit. Today, Prof. Karabus is back at home. We must therefore express our appreciation to the Government of the UAE, DIRCO embassy staff in Abu Dhabi and all other individuals who played a direct or indirect role in supporting this process.
The role we play in providing consular services to South Africans in distress abroad is critical in strengthening social compact. Furthermore, in order to keep a record of South Africans travelling abroad, we have introduced an Internet- based system known as the Registration of South African Abroad (ROSA).
We continue to provide the necessary support in cases of missing South Africans abroad, repatriation of mortal remains of South Africans who pass away in foreign countries, and those who are detained and serving time away from home. Our government will continue providing the necessary consular support to all South Africans in distress. In short, our consular services are stronger now than ever before.
We continue to review and strengthen our human resource capacity. Our department is currently embarking upon an organisational review process after a functionality assessment conducted in collaboration with the Department of Public Service and Administration. The end product of the review will help us to effectively perform our dual mandate of both domestic and Foreign Service dimensions.
Honourable Speaker,
Our department continues to make strides in giving priority to the promotion of gender, youth and women. As a result, approval for the establishment of a Youth Directorate has been granted by the Department of Public Service and Administration.
Our State Protocol unit continues to attach great importance to working with other organs of the state, including provinces for more coordinated engagements. Through our outreach programmes, as a result, there has been an increased understanding and acknowledgement that international relations is not a shared mandate.
The year in review has also been an eventful one. Our department has and continues to facilitate and host incoming state visits, joint ministerial commissions, international conferences, and many other events that require the necessary protocol services.
With the limited resources at our disposal, we continue to achieve the goals we have set ourselves to achieve. In addition to providing training on economic diplomacy for our diplomats, our Diplomatic Academy has championed training on the Post-Reconstruction and Development Programme to African diplomats from different parts of Africa, especially those countries emerging from conflict.
Accordingly, the proposed Budget Vote tabled by the Minister today represents the priority areas that our department place significant emphasis on: Administration, International Relations, International Cooperation, Public Diplomacy and State Protocol, and Transfer Payments.
As a department, our foreign policy engagements spread across different regions with different currencies. The multiple currencies continue to affect our operations, and indeed impact negatively in carrying out our mandate.
It is our innovation that has brought to the fore some of the ideas we have embraced. We have given a good account of our work, and we must look forward into the future with great optimism, and do more in attaining the goals we set in our vision for 2030.
Today, Africa is rising. Let us also rise as peoples of Africa. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the OAU/AU, let us recommit ourselves to promoting an integrated, prosperous, peaceful and unified Africa driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.
I thank you!
