Chairperson, expectations of both current and prospective South African investors in Zimbabwe were high prior to the signing of the agreement, especially as the future Zimbabwean economy would clearly be reliant on South African investment support.
On the surface, the agreement creates the illusion that our government will promote and protect South African interests. However, it is my view that the agreement offers little support to investments, should they be expropriated.
The ruling of the SADC tribunal in favour of South African investors and its registration by the South African courts was evidently ignored. Expropriation, particularly of South African-owned farms, continued to be the norm in Zimbabwe despite this.
The indigenisation policy promoted by the Mugabe regime caused further confusion. The implications of article 11 of this agreement and the protection provision afforded to South African investors should have been much more thoroughly interrogated. The deputy director-general informed the portfolio committee that if the government was not prepared to give way on the article 11 content, Zimbabwe would most likely not agree to this treaty.
We call on the Minister to explain why government pandered to the demands of the Mugabe government in conceding to the article 11 content and signed an essentially toothless agreement; and in so doing, placed the interests of our investors at risk.
In the portfolio committee, concerns were expressed that Parliament is not consulted before treaties are negotiated. This would ensure that the interests of South Africans are better promoted and protected.
If this agreement is passed in its current form, South African investments will not be properly protected from random expropriation. If this is allowed to happen, our government would have failed in its most fundamental responsibility to protect the interests of our citizens.
Today, in Windhoek at the SADC Tribunal, there is again another application by those investors to force Zimbabwe to comply with these agreements. And for that reason, it is most difficult to support a treaty that is already showing signatories who cannot abide by it. [Applause.]