CAPE TOWN, January 2 (ANA) – The ANC on Monday issued a statement roundly condemning the mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, for his visit to Taiwan and calling for the confiscation of all official and diplomatic passports from “officials who are found to be wilfully undermining our foreign policy”.
The statement released by ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Msimanga’s conduct, which went against advice from the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco), showed that the Democratic Alliance simply did not respect the country’s constitution.
“As an important reflection of the DA’s image of the world, Councillor Msimanga finds it perfectly natural and obligatory to resuscitate relations with one of the National Party’s staunchest friends, Taiwan.
The passionately worded communique went on to say, “As the saying goes: ‘Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are!’”
In addition to confiscating the diplomatic passports of local transgressors, the statement called on Dirco to let the Taipei Liaison Office in Tshwane have it too, to “protest the extreme disrespect for our foreign policy implicit in Councillor Msimanga’s invitation to Taipei”.
Noting that South Africa had since 1997 recognised the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate government of the territorial space known as China and that China had since become South Africa’s biggest trading partner, the ANC noted that Msimanga was bound by existing government policy.
“The City government of Tshwane is not an autonomous state which acts on a frolic of its own outside of government policy,” the statement said.
Msimanga had, it continued, “started a precedence which, if allowed, can only render the entire system of government impotent”.
– African News Agency (ANA)
