The US ambassador to South Africa has labelled what he called “hostility” from the ANC as one of the concerns Washington expressed at a high-level delegation sent to the US by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Rueben E Brigety II was addressing the media in Pretoria on the visit by a high-level delegation sent by Ramaphosa to the US recently to explain SA’s stance on the Russia/Ukraine conflict among others.
The ambassador started his briefing on Thursday by outlining what Washington has extended to Pretoria in terms of the assistance, citing the roll-out of the antiretroviral HIV drugs and how being part of African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has granted South Africa duty-free access to the lucrative US market.
Brigety said the US has been noting the hostility of the ANC towards Washington as per its resolutions adopted at the last elective conference which blamed the war in Ukraine on US’s foreign policy and the expansion of Nato.
He also described what was contained in the ANC resolution document as “patently false”, “outrageous” statements.
He said what was also concerning was that the ANC document had not mentioned anything about the investment the US was making in South Africa and the role it had played in allowing the country access to the US market.
Brigety said despite the great level of “generosity” that the US had extended to SA, the only mention in the ruling party’s conference resolution was an untrue assessment of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
He said for Washington, the stance was that Russia “is responsible for war crimes” in the Ukraine.
Brigety said since early this year, before the ANC made public its conference resolution document, he had been trying to have engagements with Luthuli House (ANC headquarters) but his requests were not responded to.
“I should say that since I arrived in South Africa, I have repeatedly tried to open a dialogue with the leadership structures of the ANC, they have only, very recently, began to respond to my repeated requests,” Brigety said.
He said South Africa remained an important partner for Washington and said he hoped that there would be more engagements with the ANC.
‘Hostile’ ANC ignores Washington attempts for dialogue: US ambassador to SA
The US government has expressed concern about the ‘hostility’ it has received from the ruling party, despite how generous it has been to SA.
The US ambassador to South Africa has labelled what he called “hostility” from the ANC as one of the concerns Washington expressed at a high-level delegation sent to the US by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Rueben E Brigety II was addressing the media in Pretoria on the visit by a high-level delegation sent by Ramaphosa to the US recently to explain SA’s stance on the Russia/Ukraine conflict among others.
The ambassador started his briefing on Thursday by outlining what Washington has extended to Pretoria in terms of the assistance, citing the roll-out of the antiretroviral HIV drugs and how being part of African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has granted South Africa duty-free access to the lucrative US market.
Brigety said the US has been noting the hostility of the ANC towards Washington as per its resolutions adopted at the last elective conference which blamed the war in Ukraine on US’s foreign policy and the expansion of Nato.
He also described what was contained in the ANC resolution document as “patently false”, “outrageous” statements.
He said what was also concerning was that the ANC document had not mentioned anything about the investment the US was making in South Africa and the role it had played in allowing the country access to the US market.
Brigety said despite the great level of “generosity” that the US had extended to SA, the only mention in the ruling party’s conference resolution was an untrue assessment of the Russia/Ukraine conflict.
He said for Washington, the stance was that Russia “is responsible for war crimes” in the Ukraine.
Brigety said since early this year, before the ANC made public its conference resolution document, he had been trying to have engagements with Luthuli House (ANC headquarters) but his requests were not responded to.
“I should say that since I arrived in South Africa, I have repeatedly tried to open a dialogue with the leadership structures of the ANC, they have only, very recently, began to respond to my repeated requests,” Brigety said.
He said South Africa remained an important partner for Washington and said he hoped that there would be more engagements with the ANC.
Image: FILE/ SANDILE NDLOVU
Brigety said the US senior government officials who met with South Africa’s delegation have expressed Washington’s concerns and were hoping South Africa would respond in a wholesome manner to the concerns raised.
He also stated US President Joe Biden was very concerned about these developments.
Among the concerns raised was South Africa’s participation in a military exercise with Russia and China, which happened on the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Brigety said.
He also stated that Agoa was up for renewal in 2025 but refused to speculate on what was likely to transpire when that time came.
Responding to questions from the media, Brigety said the US will be “watching very closely” developments during the upcoming Brics summit in September in South Africa.
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