The National Freedom Party (NFP) in Parliament says it strongly condemns President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to establish a commission of inquiry into the alleged supply of weapons to Russia.
NFP Parliamentary leader, Ahmed Shaik-Emam says the inquiry will be a waste of taxpayers’ money and will serve no purpose, but to satisfy the foreign powers.
This comes after United States (US) Ambassador, Reuben Brigety, claimed that South Africa provided the ammunition through Russia’s “Lady R” ship that docked at the Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town in December last year.
The International Relations and Cooperation Department claims that Brigety has since apologised unreservedly for his utterances.
SA-US | Ambassador Reuben Brigety’s conduct was distasteful: Ramaphosa:
Shaik-Emam says Ramaphosa’s decision is misguided and lacks rationale.
“The National Freedom Party is concerned about the statement made by our President Cyril Ramaphosa that a commission of inquiry will be set up to investigate the allegations made by the US ambassador that South Africa is supplying arms to Russia. The USA has no such moral authority to make any demands or claims against the South African Government given the fact that it is the USA and its allies that are supplying arms and ammunition to the Ukrainians in this proxy war with Russia. More importantly, it is the USA and its allies that continue to supply arms and ammunition to Israel who are responsible for the deaths of many Palestinian people.”
“We are saying to President Ramaphosa under no circumstances is there a need for a commission of inquiry whatsoever. We have our own policies in place, and we must do what is in the best interest of South Africa,” Shaik-Emam emphasises.
Africa’s reliance on the West
Meanwhile, Shaik-Emam says African countries are still dictated to by the West, as they are beholden to the US and European countries for financial support. He says the continent should be self-sustainable.
“The difficulty we have is in the African continent as a result of high levels of corruption and looting and the fact that African countries continue to borrow from the IMF, the World Bank and from these European Nations, including the United States of America, they (African Countries) find themselves in the vulnerable situation, a situation that results in the West dictating to them and bullying them. In simple terms, what the United States of America is saying is that if you are a friend of the United States of America you have to be an enemy of Russia because we, as the USA, are an enemy of Russia. We are saying to the countries, particularly in Africa, to become self-sufficient. Reduce your reliance on the West and ensure that there is stability and security on the African Continent,” the NFP parliamentary leader explains.
Ramaphosa’s envoy reflects on recent trip to the USA:
