The participation of Iran in the Will for Peace naval exercise off Simon’s Town and False Bay despite a clear instruction by President Cyril Ramaphosa that it should, for diplomatic reasons, be accorded only observer status, should concern us all for what it portends.
Defence minister Angie Motshekga has said “the instruction was clearly communicated to all parties concerned, agreed upon and to be implemented and adhered to as such”. Yet this was not to be. The question is not merely whether or not the country’s commander-in-chief was ignored. It is why and by whom?
Motshekga has established a board of inquiry, which, we are told, will provide answers in about a week. The inquiry itself may be as much of a sham as the entire sorry saga. It shouldn’t take a week to establish who thought it wise to ignore the president.
What is clear, though, is that Ramaphosa was correct to express concern and then issue an injunction that Iran should be accorded observer status. The defiance couldn’t have come at a worse time for South Africa. The US Senate is considering the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which preserves some duty-free access for the exports of eligible African countries, including South Africa. The US House of Representatives has voted to extend Agoa to December 31 2028.
If a sitting president can be ignored without consequences, it means he is commander-in-chief in name only.
But South Africa’s inclusion could still be torpedoed by the Senate, some of whose members have expressed concern about the country’s relationship with Iran, saying South Africa should be treated as an adversary. The exclusion of South Africa would have a devastating impact on thousands of jobs relying on duty-free access to the lucrative US market.
Further, Ramaphosa was ignored just as Iran was killing thousands of protesters in Tehran and other major cities, with US President Donald Trump threatening to intervene if the country did not cease its onslaught. Quite apart from how the US could react to Iran’s show of force on our shores, South Africa ought to be outraged by a country that butchers its youth for fighting for rights and freedoms that many here lost their lives in pursuit of — in Soweto on June 16 1976 and in Sharpeville on March 21 1960, to name just two. It is indefensible that Iran is allowed to use our seas to show off its supposed might.
Given the concerns, the question must be asked why the government has chosen to adopt a long, slow board of inquiry into the matter rather than take decisive action against rogues within the SANDF.
If a sitting president can be ignored without consequences, it means he is commander-in-chief in name only. That is what is tragic about this sorry saga. If the board of inquiry recommends a slap on the wrist for those who show disdain for the president and who wilfully put our national interests on the line, who is to say the contempt and derision would not be repeated? The president must put his foot down and eliminate any rogue elements. He must also ask himself if his defence minister has a firm grip on the top echelons of the defence force and act accordingly. Otherwise, the generals will continue to make a fool of him.
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