ActionSA will write to the Portfolio Committee on Defence to request an urgent hearing into the reckless and seemingly unauthorised remarks made by the Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Rudzani Maphwanya, during a bilateral engagement with his counterpart in Iran.
The General’s alarming diplomatic commitments are entirely inconsistent with established precedent, which dictates that any such pronouncements are the prerogative of the President or, where delegated, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), not a military general. The Ministry of Defence has correctly reaffirmed this in its statement.
This incident is yet another example of a foreign policy conducted like a cheap talk shop, devoid of guiding principles, strategic coherence or accountability. DIRCO has since distanced itself from these commitments, raising urgent questions about whether the Minister of Defence or President Cyril Ramaphosa sanctioned them. If they did, why were such reckless statements permitted and why was DIRCO not consulted? If they did not, why did the General go rogue?
Setting aside the content of the pronouncement, ActionSA takes particular issue with the apparent disregard for the structures that exist precisely to ensure that South Africa’s foreign relations, especially in such a sensitive geopolitical climate, are conducted with the discernment and discipline that this incident so clearly lacked.
ActionSA has therefore resolved to request that Minister Motshekga and General Maphwanya urgently appear before the Portfolio Committee on Defence to account for this embarrassing diplomatic blunder and to clarify whether the General acted under instruction or took it upon himself to pronounce on matters of international policy without the Minister’s knowledge.
In an increasingly volatile and polarised world, South Africa cannot afford a foreign policy conducted on a whim. The GNU’s lack of coordination and discipline in foreign affairs has laid bare just how fractured and incoherent this government truly is, with ministers, MPs and now generals making their own pronouncements abroad, sending mixed messages and undermining South Africa’s position on the global stage.
ActionSA Requests Parliamentary Hearing on SANDF Chief’s Reckless Diplomatic Fiasco in Iran
ActionSA will write to the Portfolio Committee on Defence to request an urgent hearing into the reckless and seemingly unauthorised remarks made by the Chief of the South African National Defence Force, General Rudzani Maphwanya, during a bilateral engagement with his counterpart in Iran.
The General’s alarming diplomatic commitments are entirely inconsistent with established precedent, which dictates that any such pronouncements are the prerogative of the President or, where delegated, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), not a military general. The Ministry of Defence has correctly reaffirmed this in its statement.
This incident is yet another example of a foreign policy conducted like a cheap talk shop, devoid of guiding principles, strategic coherence or accountability. DIRCO has since distanced itself from these commitments, raising urgent questions about whether the Minister of Defence or President Cyril Ramaphosa sanctioned them. If they did, why were such reckless statements permitted and why was DIRCO not consulted? If they did not, why did the General go rogue?
Setting aside the content of the pronouncement, ActionSA takes particular issue with the apparent disregard for the structures that exist precisely to ensure that South Africa’s foreign relations, especially in such a sensitive geopolitical climate, are conducted with the discernment and discipline that this incident so clearly lacked.
ActionSA has therefore resolved to request that Minister Motshekga and General Maphwanya urgently appear before the Portfolio Committee on Defence to account for this embarrassing diplomatic blunder and to clarify whether the General acted under instruction or took it upon himself to pronounce on matters of international policy without the Minister’s knowledge.
In an increasingly volatile and polarised world, South Africa cannot afford a foreign policy conducted on a whim. The GNU’s lack of coordination and discipline in foreign affairs has laid bare just how fractured and incoherent this government truly is, with ministers, MPs and now generals making their own pronouncements abroad, sending mixed messages and undermining South Africa’s position on the global stage.