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Address by Ms Sue Van der Merwe, Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs, on the Occasion of the Budget Vote Debate of the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, 29 May 2007, National Assembly, Cape Town Madame Chairperson
Ministers
and Deputy Ministers
Honourable Members
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and
High Commissioners present
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished
Guests "Government can build diplomatic relations and sign trade and
investment agreements with other countries. It can do all that is possible to
attract investment and promote the image of the country. But it requires the co-operation
of business, workers and all South Africans to take advantage of these opportunities,
to promote the country's image, and to provide good service to investors, tourists
and others. This is the contract that we should all enter into as South
Africans - each of us with one another: government and each citizen, community
and sector of society - together to build a better South Africa." This
is a quotation from the 2004 ANC election manifesto, and is what we committed
ourselves to for this government. For our work in the international arena
is as important to those ordinary South Africans whose needs are for decent housing,
for clean water and proper sanitation. Our work, in a different way, focuses on
these same issues -towards the betterment of the lives of our people. These
domestic imperatives are what drive our foreign policy and it is important that
our international work supports these South African challenges and compliments
the work of other government departments. While our democracy is built
on a constitutional dispensation underpinned by principles and where people rights
are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, we also recognise that a political settlement
without an enduring contract among the economic role-players for growth and development
would not be sustainable in the long term. And, as this is true for South Africa,
it is also true for our region and our continent. We have spoken increasingly
over the past three years of the growing interface between our political and economic
diplomacy with the view to serving our domestic interests. Over the past few years
of our democracy, recognisable characteristics of our national interests have
emerged that we have actively promoted through our foreign policy agenda and which
represent the common will and aspirations of our people. In 1997 then Deputy
President Thabo Mbeki said in this house:
"The success of our common
project to remake South Africa as a stable, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous
democracy depends in good measure on the ….existence of an international
community, similarly defined. Among other things, this places on us the obligation
to contribute to the common African continental effort, at last to achieve an
African Renaissance, including the establishment of stable democracies, respect
for human rights, an end to violent conflicts and a better life for all the peoples
of Africa." "Our first step towards our own entry into that {African}
century must consist in our capacity together to transform our own country into
a place which all our people would be proud to call home." In other
words, while we must transform our own country into a place which all our people
would be proud to call home - we recognise that Africa is also our home and our
efforts must support the transformation of this continent too. As a nation
we have come a long way towards reaching these objectives, but great challenges
remain. We need: - ·To further strengthen our democracy
for a cohesive society that shares and aspires for the same values;
- To
ensure shared economic growth and development of a better life for all South Africans;
and
- To develop a sense of national pride based on a shared vision about
the kind of society we wish to see.
Towards this end government has
implemented a series of coordinated and incremental economic growth and development
policies and strategies to consolidate our democracy. While these initiatives
have borne very positive results over the past thirteen years, we have also recognised
that there still remain large pockets of poverty in our country. Our international
work has an important role in addressing these challenges. In the Department
of Foreign Affairs our role is outward looking, seeking to unlock potential and
create opportunities through our foreign relations, for our people and our continent,
that would otherwise not exist. Our mandate as the Department of Foreign Affairs
therefore is to ensure that we conduct our foreign policy in such a manner that
we give expression to the wishes and aspirations of our people - to protect and
promote our domestic objectives through a principled foreign policy for which
we can be held accountable…... and we seek nothing less for the peoples of
the continent of Africa. South Africa's interactions with the international
community must therefore, continue to express the South African peoples' collective
values and principles. Our work must not simply react to global trends but also
influence the direction of key global processes to the benefit of our people. The
Minister has described the challenges that we face in the United Nations Security
Council, of the differences between our aspirations and of those that adopt a
different approach, who do not see the future world as we do. The critical
challenge for any country today is the management of these tensions between domestic
priorities and global demands. As we engage in political relationships, the dynamics
between domestic priorities and global demands are starting to take an increasingly
(socio) economic character. Our ever-expanding foreign policy agenda therefore
increasingly challenges the notion that a nation's status in the global community
is determined not in terms of its ability to resort to force, but rather in terms
of advancing the socio-economic development of its people in particular and the
human race in general. We choose to focus on a more people centred world, on the
socio-economic advancement of our own people, the people of Africa and the developing
world - of the elimination of poverty and hunger for all the peoples of the world.
This can be seen in the structure and nature of our bilateral agreements
and engagements as well as the increasing role we are playing in tri-lateral and
multilateral relations. Most of these relations are now conducted in an integrated
fashion with other government departments, where foreign affairs plays a coordinating
and facilitative role ensuring that our foreign relations do not remain abstract
but address practical socio-economic needs. We therefore are continuing in our
efforts to build the necessary capacity to ensure that we are equal to the task. If
we consider for example the status of our relations with some of the influential
nations of the South, including Brazil, China, India and Nigeria, with whom we
already have good political relations, we see much greater emphasis on socio-economic
development co-operation. In all the recent engagements we have had with these
countries, we have increasingly sought to bolster the cordial political relations
that exist between us with the advancement of socio-economic co-operation to improve
the lives of our people. The interface between political solidarity and the practical
manifestation of benefits at the national level has been one of the key lessons
that we have learnt as a country. In the time since we have re-entered global
politics, we have also realised that to remain relevant players we would need
to persuade the international community to support developing countries in efforts
to devise and implement national strategies for development and sustained economic
growth. It is important that our foreign policy agenda has social relevance, so
that the gap between the abstract world of policy and its practical manifestations
begins to close. Using platforms such as the India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA)
Dialogue we have been able to create a Facility Fund for the Alleviation of Poverty
and Hunger. Each of the three member countries contributes one million United
States dollars annually, which is used for replicable projects for eradicating
poverty and hunger in developing countries by providing improved access to education,
health and sanitation, and food security. The fact that we are starting
to translate foreign policy outcomes from global platforms such as IBSA, into
programmes at the national level is a clear demonstration of our understanding
of the need for policies that are practical and relevant. Like any other
government department, we are held accountable for what we deliver. South Africa
is a participatory democracy and as a department we are committed to the objectives
of accountability, transparency and probity by the legitimate representatives
of our people. This commitment is demonstrated through the interaction that our
department has with the Portfolio Committee in the last two years. Briefings by
our Director General and senior officials to the Portfolio Committee have resulted
in a dynamic interaction amongst South Africans on many pertinent foreign policy
topics such as the resolution of the conflict in Cote d'Ivoire; the fulfilment
of the legitimate rights of the people of the Saharawi Democratic Peoples Republic;
on Iran; and on the Non-aligned Movement and the Democratic Republic of Congo,
amongst others. It is our intention therefore to continue and constantly
improve on this trend, particularly in the areas that are in the interests of
South Africa and which have international relevance, such as the New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD). NEPAD constitutes a new approach to development
on the African Continent, an approach which supports African development initiatives
with international partnerships. This approach has received a vote of confidence
at the United Nations and we need to capitalise on this. NEPAD, as members will
be aware has now been fully integrated in various United Nations programmes and
plans of action, particularly in the implementation of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). The MDGs closely mirror our own vision 2014 and it is in
our interest to work within this global framework to ensure that we benefit from
the collective wisdom of the international community that can contribute towards
realising the vision of creating a better life for all. Various South African
government departments, supported and facilitated by the Department of Foreign
Affairs, have since the inception of NEPAD, played a leading role and been closely
involved in the development and implementation of various priority programmes. We
have also used our bilateral relations to interact with the developed countries
of the North to highlight the partnership role that they can play in supporting
key initiatives such as the fight against communicable and infectious diseases,
including HIV and AIDS. Given the extent to which we have promoted NEPAD
globally, it is urgent for us to increase the understanding about NEPAD amongst
our own people. Ongoing consultation with South African civil society and the
private sector has been underway since 2005 and the NEPAD Implementation Strategy
for South Africa (NISSA) has been formulated. Both the NEPAD Implementation
Strategy SA and Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA)
priorities are mutually reinforcing and should enhance the pace and quality of
the services we deliver to our people. Madam Speaker, Honourable members In
deepening our own democracy and democracy in our region, we continue to place
great importance on regional integration. Regional co-operation and integration
in Southern Africa owes its origins to historical, economic, political, social
and cultural factors that have created strong bonds of solidarity and unity among
the peoples of Southern Africa. Our vision of full regional integration
was reaffirmed at the SADC Summit held in Lesotho in 2006. A set of targets has
been agreed upon within a fifteen year period. We are aware of the challenges
associated with the integration programme, including the full implications of
SADC Free Trade Area and Custom Union's ambitions, the full implementation the
Trade Protocol in the region, as well as the issue of overlapping custom union
membership within SADC. These are without a doubt serious challenges, but we will
not be deterred from pursuing this vision, because not only is it in the regional
interest to do so, but also in our own. So much has been achieved in SADC
in the past few decades to bring political and economic stability to our neighbourhood.
As a region, we have a clear vision for the kind of future we wish to create for
future generations, which is why we believe that with the current will and commitment
that exists towards the regional programme, we will overcome the obstacles we
face, as indeed we overcame the destabilising effects of apartheid in the region
in the 1980s by forming the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference,
SADC's predecessor. Let us bear in mind that the ultimate aim of regional
integration is the creation of a more politically stable and economically prosperous
region, which is a key building block of a united Africa. Since our entry into
the global arena we have sought to work in partnership based on the recognition
that the problems we face as countries are far too complex for us to deal with
individually. Given that we have anchored our foreign policy agenda on
the African continent, SADC is a logical gateway for us into the continent and
into the African Union and its institutions. SADC is therefore an important platform
for us to lobby our positions to take forward to continental and international
negotiations. We are mindful of the fact that South Africa has, up to now
been slow in filling its quota of seconded positions in SADC and this has had
a negative effect on the functioning of the regional body. We are closely looking
at this matter with the view to attracting people of a high calibre to serve on
these institutions and further demonstrate our commitment to the African Agenda.
As regards other multilateral obligations we are proud that South Africa
plays host to the prestigious Pan-African Parliament. As members are aware, we
were bestowed the honour to host this prestigious AU institution, which is at
the heart of the democratisation process in Africa, in 2004. As representatives
of the African peoples, the Members of the Pan-African Parliament play an important
role in reflecting the wishes and aspirations of the African people. As an advisory
body, it has become an important platform for discussing the most topical and
pertinent issues on the African continent. As part of our bid to host the
parliament we pledged to hold a continent wide architectural design competition
for the permanent home of the parliament. All the work has been done and in April,
along with the Minister of Public Works, we launched the Competition for African
Architects, to ensure that from the very beginning, the parliament, that is the
house of many voices and reflective of the diversity of our continent is also
housed in a building reflecting Africa. We continue to work closely with the Department
of Public Works to ensure that we start construction in the latter part of this
year. Madame Chairperson As an activist for progressive change, South
Africa together with other progressive forces chooses the path of hope and solidarity,
pursuing effective and constructive dialogue among the peoples of the world based
on mutual interest, and a shared responsibility to the common challenges that
confront humanity. Recent developments in Latin America and the Caribbean
have captured our attention. The emergence of progressive governments in that
part of the world and the values for which they stand has spurred us to increase
our involvement in that part of the world.. The countries of the South
share similar experiences and have the same wishes and aspirations for their people.
The possibilities for co-operation with individual countries in the Latin American
and Caribbean region are therefore immense. We have already undertaken a number
of initiatives on which are critical for the coordination of positions in multilateral
forums. In this regard, we have been focusing on strengthening our relations
with other emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, with a focus on the
consolidation of the legal frameworks for the promotion of economic relations.
The accession in May 2004 of five Central European countries (Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia) and the three Baltic countries
(Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) as well as the accession of Romania on 1 January
2007 to the European Union is expected to further influence South Africa's political
and economic relations with these countries, and becoming, on the one hand, competitors
in trade and beneficiaries of development aid, but also allies in terms of the
level of development, which is, at this stage closer to that of South Africa than
to most of the current EU members. This dichotomy presents both challenges and
opportunities to South Africa in the design of its foreign relations with this
new reality. In formulating South Africa's policy in relation to the emerging
markets of the new EU countries, we believe it is important to strengthen relations
and to develop common positions on global issues such as access to the markets
of the industrial West, reform of international institutions and the promotion
of the development agenda. Madam Speaker South Africa's increasing
role in international relations calls for a capable and committed cadre of Diplomats.
The expansion of our representation abroad, particularly in Africa, necessitates
that we increase the capacity in terms of numbers, and deepen our skills in both
our political and economic diplomacy. In this regard, the department has
put in place a structured approach to address vacancies through two big annual
recruitment drives, in January and July, targeting vacancies across all levels
and across all Branches. These drives allow us to fill some vacancies, but often
we are not able to fill all the vacancies that we have because of a general skills
shortage experienced by both the public and private sector. In response
to these constraints, the Department has initiated programmes to accelerate our
cadet programme targeting the youth. We have 43 young people that are currently
being trained by the Department in collaboration with UNISA on our cadet programme
and a second group of approximately 50 young people will start in July. The
recruitment drives also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge internal talent
through promotions. The timing of the recruitment drives is aligned to the placement
cycles of outgoing and returning officials and two-third of our vacancies is filled
by internal candidates. The drive also allows the Department to bring in
new talent from outside. We attract talent from within the Public Service and
from other sectors of our economy including the private sector, state-owned enterprises,
Universities and NGOs. Madame Chairperson At this point I would like
to thank the Honourable Members on both sides of the house for their support both
during the good and difficult times. My greatest appreciation goes to Minister
Dlamini Zuma and Deputy Minister Pahad for their constant support and leadership
in this challenging environment. I would also like to specially thank our
Director General, who has one of the most difficult jobs in the world. He has
ensured that we achieve our objectives and that we are always able to account
for the promises we make in this house -and he never fails to be professional
and cheerful as he leads our team of dedicated professionals. We thank them all,
senior and junior, here and abroad for their invaluable contribution. In
conclusion I would like to recall the words of Pixley Ka Isaka Seme, on Africa's
regeneration. He said: "[A] brighter day is rising upon Africa. Already
I seem to see her chains dissolved, her desert red with harvest, her Abyssinia
and her Zululand the seats of science and religion, reflecting the glory of the
rising sun from the spires of their churches and universities. Her Congo and her
Gambian whitened with commerce, her crowded cities sending forth the hum of business
and all her sons employed in advancing the victories of peace, greater and more
abiding than the spoils of war." Let us never forget these words and
the promise they hold as we tackle the challenges of the next year. I thank
you. Issued by Department of Foreign Affairs
Private Bag X152
Pretoria
0001 29
May 2007 | 
