MINI PLENARY AT GOOD HOPE CHAMBER, PARLIAMENT
VOTE 6: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION
DATE: THURS 11 JULY 2024
In her debate on the budget for 2023/2024 financial year, former Minister Dr Naledi Pandor emphasised on the importance of “Strengthening Partnerships to forge a more just and equitable global system.”
It is thus encouraging to see that DIRCO’s strategic plan on its vision as from 2020 – 2025 amongst others, includes a just and equitable vision on the African continent. However, this should be filtered globally as emphasised by the former Minister. South Africa has taken a brazen and just stance on humanity when it took the Zionist Israeli entity to the International Court for Justice for genocidal acts against Palestinians.
The former Minister’s emphasis on “Strengthening Partnerships to forge a more just and equitable global system” remains relevant today. Has this 2024/25 budget considered that South Africa’s continuous fight for the genocidal case against Israel; not only strengthening support for Palestine, but also for other occupied countries as in the case of Western Sahara, the RIF Republic, and Kashmir?
Despite a slight decrease in the 2023/24 budget, the country gained an increase in foreign direct investments; especially in its partnership with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition where investment of about 1.4 trillion rand was achieved. Since the Trade, Industry and Competition is one of the department’s clusters, what is the department’s position on the latter’s trade with the Zionist Israeli entity?
While promoting solidarity with the Palestinians’ liberation struggle, South Africa’s trades with Israel remains strong. The Trade, Industry and Competition’s exports of vehicles, aircraft and vessels has tripled since 2017 – 2023 (2023: R107 982 352); other goods, live animals, vegetables, mineral products, chemicals, etc. amounted to almost 3 billion rand exported goods to this apartheid state; this is rather hypocritical!
Returning to my point on strengthening partnerships to forge a just and equitable global system: as much as we want to see economic growth and good relations on a global level, at the same time we must ensure that such relations are aimed to create a just and equitable system regionally, on the African continent and globally.
As soon as South Africa’s new cabinet was announced, we saw how the new Minister of International Relations and Cooperation was pounced on by the US reminding South Africa to further ferment its bilateral relations. Al Jama-ah calls on South Africa to remain steadfast on the undertaking given to strengthen bilateral engagements and relations with an African Agenda.
We call on the Minister of Justice and Cooperation to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor by increasing South Africa’s solidarity with Palestinians and other occupied countries; to further pursue South Africa’s genocide case against the criminally minded Zionist Prime Minister for its genocidal attacks on Palestinians.
South Africa must continue to support and improve its solidarity efforts for the conviction of Israeli prime minister and for the liberation of Palestine, occupied Western Sahara, Kashmir and the RIF Republic; to increase solidarity with Cuba who is under an economic blockade from the west and to play a fundamental role in bringing about peace in South Sudan, Mali, Libya, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.
AL JAMA-AH does not support a two-state solution; AL JAMA-AH supports a one state solution! We cannot claim ownership of land through a genocide
AL JAMA-AH supports this budget with concerns, and we will be holding an observational role surrounding this budget.
Thank you
Maiden Speech in Parliament by Adv. Shameemah Salie
AL JAMA-AH MP