Home » DA and ANC Squabble Over Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga’s Trip to Taiwan

DA and ANC Squabble Over Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga’s Trip to Taiwan

PRETORIA – The new year has barely begun, and party political squabbles have already started between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The latest squabble is over Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga’s recent trip to the City of Taipei, Taiwan. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) says the visit to […]

By SAPeople
03-01-17 16:12
in Eish!

PRETORIA – The new year has barely begun, and party political squabbles have already started between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The latest squabble is over Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga’s recent trip to the City of Taipei, Taiwan.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) says the visit to Taiwan by Tshwane’s mayor (who happens to be from the DA) was in breach of South Africa’s foreign policy – namely, the One China Policy – and that it advised the Mayor beforehand to not undertake the visit. According to DIRCO, China is South Africa’s biggest trading partner and is also the second biggest economy in the world after the USA.

DIRCO said: “In a move that is highly regrettable, Mayor Msimanga disregarded DIRCO’s advice and proceeded with the visit.” 

The DA has responded with its own statement saying “the ANC has shown yet again just how little it values job-creating investment in South Africa with its petty, hypocritical attack”.

DIRCO said the President has the powers and responsibilities to conduct SA’s foreign relations and that other representatives should coordinate foreign visits through DIRCO to ensure a cohesive approach.

The DA said that neither the ANC nor the national government it runs can dictate who DA Mayors meet with in order to obtain job-creating investment, and that such international trips are allowed and necessary when South Africa has over 9 million jobless people.

The DA also pointed out that the previous Pretoria mayor had conducted business visits abroad; and accused the ANC of “glaring hypocrisy” reminding them that “South Africa maintains relations with Taiwan through the South African Liaison Office in Taiwan”.

The DIRCO statement said that Taiwan is not recognised as a sovereign state by South Africa and the United Nations; and that “the Liaison Office does not enjoy the status of an Embassy.  The Liaison offices arrangement was agreed upon to facilitate people to people contact.

“It has no political mandate and therefore interaction between political office bearers is not allowed.”

However – as pointed out by several users on Twitter – the ANC’s own Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, visited Taiwan with 18 business people, in 2014.

The DA said it has today written to Davies asking him to recommit to building trade and investment relations with Taiwan, and to dismiss the ANC and DIRCO’s “reckless and hypocritical statements” about Msimanga’s recent trip.

“We believe the Minister was right to endorse this mission because Taiwan is South Africa’s second largest Asian investor with R14 billion worth of investments and trade between the two countries totalling R22 billion, with a trade balance of nearly R4 billion in South Africa’s favour according to 2013 statistics.”

The DA added: “It is laughable to suggest that Mayor Msimanga breached the ‘One China Policy’ by going to Taiwan but our own government department did not by undertaking the same trip two years earlier.”

Sources: SAnews.gov.za and www.da.org.za