Chair, colleagues and guests, this is the first time that I deliver a speech in Parliament. [Applause.] It is an honour and a privilege and I hope that I can contribute to the success of this institution while I am a member.
The Department of International Relations formulates and executes South Africa's foreign policy. It enters into international agreements on our behalf and manages our diplomatic missions. This department is the marketing and public relations department of our country and our interface with global decision-making forums. The question is, then: Do we have the right strategy, vision, personnel and international representatives to sell our beautiful country to foreign investors and strengthen our trade relations?
The DA worries about whether our image in the international arena is conducive to investment, economic growth and job creation - or do we demand too much from investors when investing in our economy? I remember former President Nelson Mandela putting his arm out in one of his first speeches and inviting the world to come and invest in South Africa. It was South Africa's honeymoon period for foreign direct investment. Have we been as successful in maintaining strong relationships as we were in courting the world during that golden period? As a member of Brics, we are running with the big boys. However, it is not clear whether we will be able to keep up with the pace. The Brics nations are characterised by large populations, high gross domestic product growth and strong government-business co-operation. We are still finding the best ways to leverage our relationships in Brics. Also, it has yet to be proven if the economic benefits of our Brics membership justify the dilution of our normative character, which has resulted from it. We have picked the wrong friends on the playground. We picked the ones who bully their own people, the ones who pick fights with everybody who is successful. So, gradually, we are perceived as being part of that group.
Much of our credibility in the international arena lies in our status as being an important spokesperson on African issues. Our failure to be elected as chair of the African Union Commission shows that we ourselves may well be perceived as a bully by some of our African neighbours.
African countries should be our biggest export market and we should be strengthening African economies through imports and investment. We should be importing oil from African countries. We should be exporting manufactured goods to these seven African countries: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo and Ghana. These countries have been identified by economists as among the top 10 fastest-growing economies in the world.
In his book, Martin Luther King Junior said: "It is indeed possible to be too late in history with the right answers." Our economic activities, our choice of international partners, our advocacy on African issues and the alignment of our political and economic diplomacy should be aimed at helping us to regain respect on the continent and in the rest of the world, before an African Renaissance occurs without meaningful participation by South Africa.
Dirco has 4 500 approved posts. Spending on management salaries continues to rise. The department spends about R825 million per year on membership of international organisations and maintains 124 foreign missions, with a total budget of R2,3 billion. All this is in an attempt to maintain our international profile. The question is: Are we getting value for our money?
Dirco has to start reporting not only on the good intentions with regard to our diplomatic missions and presence in international forums but on the return on our investment through tangible benefits to the average South African.
We have to get clarity on the organogram of the department. We need assurance from the Minister that the responsibilities of every post have been identified and are managed accordingly. We look forward to the promised audit to determine which posts to retain or abolish. We have to know how the performance of our various diplomatic and consular missions is managed. Are we getting good results? Who has oversight over their performance?
We do not want to be too late in history with the right answers. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation has to be run with the right answers in mind. We have to ensure that where these answers are not yet forthcoming, we understand what remains to be done in order to reach them.