In a move that is likely to annoy the African National Congress (ANC)‚ Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga has been granted the Freedom of the City by the mayor of Taipei.
The mayor’s trip to Taiwan has been criticised by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation‚ which said it was against South Africa’s upholding of the One China policy‚ while the ANC’s Tshwane caucus described it as “treason”.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) shadow deputy minister for trade and industry‚ Dean Macpherson‚ on Thursday morning tweeted a photo of the mayor: “Congratulations Executive Mayor @SollyMsimanga on being bestowed with the Freedom of the City by Taipei Mayor Dr. Ko!”
Macpherson had earlier taunted the ruling party by posting a selfie taken in a Taiwanese government chamber‚ saying: “I guess this is now considered 'treason' according to @MYANC . #Taiwan”.
Msimanga had dismissed the criticism‚ saying “party politics must be transcended by the paramount need to create opportunities”.
He said that suggestions that he was “contradicting the South African position on the ‘One China policy’…are short-sighted and misrepresented”.
A statement said Msimanga “believes all potential opportunities for trade and investment must be diligently interrogated if we are to fully harness bilateral relationships for the purposes of cultivating the opportunities so many of our people desperately need”.
It also claimed that that Msimanga had “elected to take time out of his own personal leave” and that the trip was undertaken “at no cost to the city”.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 