House Chair, hon members, hon Minister, Excellencies, ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps present, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you all. Minister, it is only proper for me to congratulate you on your reflective and forward-looking speech, which, of course, will set the tone for the work that the department will be doing in the course of the coming year.
Let me start by expressing my sincere condolences, and those of the committee, to the people of Malawi on the passing of their President, Bingu wa Mutharika, and also congratulating Her Excellency Joyce Banda on her assumption of the presidency of Malawi.
I have observed that again this financial year the department will be faced with implementing its mammoth task with ever more meagre and limited financial resources and within the constraints imposed by prevailing conditions in the global economic sphere. Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge the announcements regarding the two major policy initiatives, which include the establishment of the SA Development Partnership Agency, Sadpa, and the legal framework in the form of the Foreign Service Bill.
Minister, we share your conviction that Sadpa must indeed fundamentally work differently from the traditionally colonial donor-recipient practice, where conditionality is imposed on beneficiaries without their involvement and without due regard for the peculiarity of their own conditions. Indeed, Sadpa must operate in partnership with beneficiary countries and create synergies for mutual benefit that must also assist in addressing our domestic challenges. We will pay particular attention to the command and governance structure of Sadpa in an effort to assist and support the department in navigating the pitfalls so evident in the functioning of state-owned enterprises.
With regard to the Foreign Service Bill, we have noted, and consequently appreciate, that the Department of International Relations and Co-Operation operates in an international environment that may not be adequately covered by the current Public Service Act, hence the need for a legal framework that will cater for the uniqueness of its operations and the peculiarities of its mandate. As such, the department is assured of the committee's support for its ongoing efforts in addressing this particular matter.
High on the agenda, as guided by the President's 2012 state of the nation address, is the promotion of intra-Africa trade and infrastructure development, which must serve as catalysts for economic upheaval and job creation and provide the necessary interconnectivity on the continent to facilitate intra-Africa trade. These are also our own national priorities, which of course also constitute common challenges across the region and the continent.
The Southern African Development Community, SADC, should strive to be seen to be the face of Nepad, and South Africa should indeed encourage countries in the region to join in the voluntary assessment processes offered by the African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, initiative. In this vein I wish to congratulate the national chairperson of the ANC, Comrade Baleka Mbethe, on her appointment to the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons.
South Africa assumed the stewardship of the SADC Troika in August 2011. We have noted the hard work that has gone towards finding a lasting solution to the political crisis in Madagascar. We have also noted the considerable progress made with regard to the creation of the Independent Electoral Commission and the Amnesty Bill.
South Africa's tenure in the Security Council has been marked with success, including the adoption of Resolution 2033, which sought to strengthen and promote the Security Council's co-operation with regional organisations, particularly the African Union's Peace and Security Council. In light of recent events in Libya and Cte d'Ivoire, in particular, insufficient consultation with peace and security institutions in the different regions has blurred the role that the Security Council played. Instead, we have witnessed the brazen pursuit of national and strategic interests of individual members of the P5 and, through the clamour for regime changes under the auspices of the Security Council, indeed often at a very high cost to human life and the future stability of countries and regions.
Of particular concern is the proliferation of weapons in the Middle East and North Africa. Some members of the P5, in co-operation with some rich countries in the Middle East, injected huge amounts of arms and money, either directly or indirectly through their proxies, into that conflict- ridden part of the region. Once the proverbial dust has settled and these powers have achieved their military goals, it is left to the locals, with the support of their regional police, to clean up the mess afterwards. By this time, the warmongers have found another target for pacification. In this regard, South Africa's principled belief in the peaceful resolution of conflicts is commendable and will continue to receive our unqualified support. Naturally, those who are nave enough to believe that military interventions can bring about sustainable and lasting peace and stability will, as they have done in the past, oppose this position and seek to discredit our country's foreign policy. They, in collaboration with or with the support of detractors of our country, have dabbled in verbal theatrics, ranging from calling our country's foreign policy "flip-flop" to being anti human rights. Curiously, though, they have remained silent on the gross violations visited on the landless Palestinians and the Saharawi populations, that are suffering a similar fate.
South Africa has remained steadfast in her support for the right to self- determination and statehood of the Palestinian people, living side by side and in peace with Israel. This peace will remain elusive until the fundamental grievance of the Palestinian people is addressed. The condition of this occupied people has progressively worsened and a negotiated settlement on the final status issues has equally remained elusive.
The continued construction of illegal settlements, which has become the trademark of the Israeli land grab, only serves to undermine the realistic potential for the existence of a Palestinian state by creating new facts on the ground. The peace process must be revived to deal with the final status issues. A negotiated settlement is as much in the interest of Israel as it is in the interest of the Palestinians.
While we celebrate the birth of the state of South Sudan as the youngest member of the African Union, AU, we are extremely concerned about the raging conflict between South Sudan and her northern neighbour. I want to repeat the call that South Africa and the AU must continue with the process in search of a long-term, sustainable solution to the outstanding issues of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, CPA, and call on the governments of both the north and the south of Sudan to return to the negotiating table.
The plight of the Saharawi people in Western Sahara is the risk of being swept off the radar of the international community. South Africa's proposal in the Security Council for the establishment of a human rights mechanism, meant to monitor and report on alleged human rights abuses perpetrated against the Saharawi people in Western Sahara, is correct and should have received support in the Security Council. It is tragic, though, that some members of the council, in particular the regime change architects in the P5, did not support this call. This, once again, is another proverbial elephant in the room of the multilateral system, with its hypocrisy and subjection of universal human rights issues to the narrow, self-serving and neocolonial agendas of foreign colonisers. South Africa must remain the voice of conscience in the multilateral system and keep these issues on the agenda of the council until they are eventually supported.
I have noted with a great sense of comfort that South Africa continues to keep alive the debate on the reform of the global system of governance, in particular the Security Council and the Bretton Woods institutions. I am aware that South Africa is actively lobbying the G20 to afford sub-Saharan Africa a greater voice in the governance of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, by allocating a third IMF board chair to the region.
On the developments in Iran, South Africa has indeed maintained its stance in the United Nations Security Council, UNSC, also with regard to its commitment to democracy, human rights, sustainable development, social justice and environmental protection. South Africa is a responsible producer, processor and trader of defence-related products and advanced technologies. South Africa is against the irresponsible proliferation of small arms and ammunition and, of course, an activist against all forms of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction. While our country supports the right of all states to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, it believes that this should be done under the auspices of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
We commend your handling of the issues pertaining to Iran and Syria with an appreciation of and sensitivity to the complexities and their centrality to the strategic and geopolitical dynamics of the Middle East.
We are keenly observing the negotiations for the continuation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Agoa, beyond 2015 and view this as being a crucial socioeconomic and political issue for our country. All necessary efforts must be brought to bear on securing this extension.
Partnerships with the countries of the South are critical to advance not only South Africa's own developmental needs but also the African agenda more broadly. Participation in the India-Brazil-South Africa, Ibsa, forum is important as a vehicle for transforming global governance in favour of the collective interests of the South.
Of course, South Africa's membership of Brics brings hope to Africa. It is gratifying that at a recent meeting of the Brics finance ministers in Washington the idea of having a working group established to pursue the idea of a Brics bank was indeed tossed about. I personally support this idea. There is indeed an opportunity cost to Brics states if the idea of a Brics bank is not pursued.
Relations with the strategic formations of the North will remain very important as a conduit for promoting the African agenda and that of the countries of the South. The European Union in this instance is South Africa's largest donor of official developmental assistance and direct investment. This relationship should indeed be utilised to achieve both our national and continental projects under the Nepad programme.
We have observed that the Public Diplomacy and Protocol Services programme has again received a reduced share of the budget. The importance of public diplomacy cannot be overemphasised. A comprehensive, aggressive and target- driven communications strategy is needed to conduct a fearless campaign on the activities of the department in furtherance of the country's foreign policy.
It is, of course, with great satisfaction that we have noted that a distinguished South African will be fielded by the SADC region as a candidate for the strategic position of chairperson of the African Union Commission. Africa is our beloved continent and it is indeed in our national interest to meaningfully contribute to strengthening the structures of the continental organisation. We have committed to doing exactly that. We, like the rest of the SADC region, have no doubt that the hon Minister of Home Affairs, Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is the ideal candidate. This would be a gesture to give the Southern Africa region an opportunity to contribute to the AU at the highest level and in line, of course, with the AU declaration of 2010-2020 as the "Decade for Women" to ensure gender equity at the highest level of these continental organisations.
In two days we will once again be celebrating our freedom from institutionalised apartheid and its brutal manifestations. When we do so, we must be mindful of the fact that the majority of our people still experience discrimination on a daily basis. While significant progress has been made by this ANC-led government, the fundamental contradictions that mainly constitute the national grievances of our own people still permeate their everyday lives. In this context, our international relations and co- operation is not an end in itself but an instrument of the revolution that must help us to overcome our domestic challenges and achieve this national democratic revolution.
When we celebrate our 18 years of freedom and 100 years of the ANC's struggle and selfless sacrifice, we must do so cognisant of the fact that our liberation from apartheid was in part possible because the international community supported our struggle through, among others, public condemnation of apartheid, making the system unprofitable and providing material and moral support to the liberation struggle.
While acknowledging the battalions of thousands of supporters for our cause the world over, I want to single out the courageous island nation of Cuba, who, because of their revolutionary spirit of internationalism and solidarity, made enormous sacrifices and paid a very high price in the form of financial and material resources and the loss of human lives. In battles against the former SADF and Unita rebels, 2 016 Cuban soldiers lost their lives. It is against this backdrop that we can never ever forget the contribution made by the Cuban people to our revolution. [Applause.]
In conclusion, I want to reiterate the point that history has bequeathed to our country the responsibility of internationalism and solidarity. South Africa, being herself a beneficiary of such human virtue, has to continue to highlight the plight of the people of Cuba, who continue to suffer from a unilateral embargo imposed on them for being audacious in, among others, fighting terror groups hellbent on overthrowing the Cuban revolution. To this end, five Cubans languish in US jails for infiltrating US-based armed terror groups and providing their government with information that arguably saved the lives of thousands of Cubans.
Lastly, more broadly, history has indeed bequeathed to South Africa the responsibility to be the champion for global justice, peace and freedom, and the voice of conscience against human rights violations irrespective of who the perpetrators are. I commend the Budget Vote. [Applause.]