Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes a statement by the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry to suspend its decision to block the export of silicone semiconductor chips to South Africa following a request for engagement from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on the matter.
While we welcome this decision to launch diplomatic talks to restore South Africa’s key trade relationship with Taiwan, it is still an indictment on DIRCO and our economic diplomacy agenda that Minister Ronald Lamola has unilaterally taken a reckless foreign policy decision, leading to a very public diplomatic spat, to get us here. Why did DIRCO not engage in good faith with the Taipei Liaison Office (TLO) before irrationally downgrading its foreign mission and placing South African manufacturing in the firing line?
The DA demands that DIRCO urgently engage with the TLO and trade representatives to find consensus as to the future of this relationship. It is crucial that these discussions are held in the true spirit of non-alignment to which Minister Lamola has repeatedly pledged South African foreign policy and economic diplomacy. Finally, Minister Lamola must come to Parliament and explain this foreign policy decision which only seeks to sabotage South African industry.
South Africa’s economic diplomacy, which Minister Lamola has touted as a key focus of his term, seems to want to inflict more harm on our economy and its prospects for growth than make any attempt to address our country’s crippling inequality. The Government of National Unity’s (GNU) statement of intent makes a clear commitment to executing a foreign policy in the national interest, but it is increasingly clear that Minister Lamola does not know what South Africa’s interests actually are.
It is crucial that South Africa’s economic diplomacy agenda pursues a genuinely non-aligned approach to trade to grow our economy and create jobs. This must be rooted in a firm commitment to our constitutional values to guide our national interest. Considering the decrease in trade with Taiwan in recent years, the Minister should have always sought to boost our trading relationship rather than further undermine it.
It is not in South Africa’s interest to create an ‘either or’ scenario with our trading partners. Minister Lamola, in consultation with Trade, Industry and Competition Minister, Parks Tau, should be diversifying South Africa’s import and exports markets in our country’s economic interests. There is no place for outdated ANC ideology to sabotage this objective, and Minister Lamola must remember his responsibility to the citizens of his country and their wellbeing over those of his political party.
Regards
Ryan Smith MP
DA Spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation