Ronald Lamola has cautioned political parties in the government of national unity (GNU) against presenting their individual foreign policy positions as representative of the state, saying it could distort SA’s foreign policy stance.
The international relations & co-operation minister’s remarks follow recent instances of divergent foreign policy statements from coalition partners, raising concerns over the coherence and consistency of SA’s international diplomatic posture.
“There’s nothing wrong with them engaging outside, but it becomes wrong when they go there and they distort our policies. We have to clarify, and sometimes they misrepresent that they are representing the GNU,” Lamola said on Thursday ahead of the tabling of the department of international relations & co-operation budget vote.
“It helps no-one for them to go and distort issues that will harm the national interest of SA.”
This follows the return of groups comprising leaders from the Freedom Front Plus, the Southern African Agri Initiative and the National Employers’ Association of SA from the US, where they met with various US officials and discussed SA and US relations.
Similarly, a DA delegation also met with US officials in February.
The DA’s Eastern Cape leader, Andrew Whitfield, was fired by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week for undertaking the unauthorised trip to the US.
At the time, the DA said Whitfield, who is also the DA leader in the Eastern Cape, undertook the week-long visit in his capacity as a party leader and not on behalf of the SA government.
The DA delegation’s working visit came amid the government’s push to normalise relations with the Trump administration, which has taken an antagonistic view of SA and its multibillion-rand trade relationship.
During a tabling of the budget vote, Lamola said SA aimed to maintain its diplomatic reach by completing a cost-benefit review of foreign missions and ensuring a “cost-efficient” diplomatic footprint.
A focus would be placed on securing market access for SA businesses and strengthening regional integration through critical road, rail and port infrastructure.
The department’s budget for the 2025/2026 fiscal year has been moderately increased from R7bn to R7.09bn, reaching R7.5bn in 2027/28.
“Programme allocations include R3.471bn for international relations, R585m for international co-operation, and R486m for public diplomacy and protocol services.”
“Additional allocations to support SA’s leadership role in the G20 and its legal pursuit at the International Court of Justice further demonstrate our principled engagement with the international community,” Lamola said.
The department will also seek to absorb exchange rate volatility within its budget ceiling by partnering closely with the National Treasury and plugging critical vacancies in the diplomatic corps, Lamola said.
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