(Johannesburg) If the South African state supplied arms to Russia, as Washington accuses, how can it not know? The opening of an investigation, announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, provoked perplexed and even mocking comments in the country on Friday.
And beyond that, there is real concern about the economic repercussions of the diplomatic dispute, the United States being an essential trading partner for South Africa.
After sweeping accusations Thursday in Pretoria from US Ambassador Reuben Brigety that a Russian freighter docked near Cape Town in December before heading back to Russia laden with arms and ammunition , Cyril Ramaphosa, visibly annoyed, did not deny, referring only to an investigation entrusted to “a retired judge”.
PHOTO KHALIL SENOSI, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
United States Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety
The government said on Friday that there was no record of state-sanctioned arms sales to Russia over the period in question.
Washington welcomed the opening of this investigation, a “welcome” decision in the discussions that have been going on for some time between the two countries about this controversial cargo.
But in the evening, the South African Foreign Ministry, which demanded that the US ambassador provide an explanation by summoning him to a meeting with Minister Naledi Pandor, said in a statement that the latter had ” admitted to overstepping the mark and unreservedly apologizing to the government and people of South Africa.
The ministry, however, did not specify whether the American diplomat had reconsidered his accusations.
The Kremlin said for its part on Friday, without directly referring to the case, that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mr. Ramaphosa had expressed during a telephone conversation their desire to “increase” cooperation between their two countries ” in various fields”.
In South Africa, many have quipped about the president’s announced inquiry, a typical modus operandi of the ANC in power since the end of apartheid to try to settle embarrassing issues.
“Under His Nose”
“Do we have to understand that the left hand of the government does not know what its right hand is doing? “, tweeted Friday Mmusi Maimane, head of a small opposition party.
The radio host of one of the most listened to morning shows, Bongani Bingwa, left headlong with the same haunting question about this alleged delivery: “Did we do it or didn’t we do it? And if we did, shouldn’t our president know? »
The sequence reinforces the feeling of a “disorganization of information within the South African government”, underlines analyst Daniel Silke to AFP. “Perhaps this shows that the president is simply not aware of what is happening under his nose.”
“The President, as Commander-in-Chief, and the Minister of Defense should know exactly what happened. It is dishonest to suggest that they are only spectators,” Kobus Marais, defense manager for the main opposition party (DA), told AFP.
South Africa, close to the Kremlin since the days of the struggle against apartheid, refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, saying it wanted to remain neutral.
However, the country maintains a much more substantial commercial relationship with the United States and Europe than with Russia. He would therefore have much to lose from a falling out with Washington, warn economists.
The rand, already weakened against the dollar in recent days, fell sharply, reaching its lowest level in three years.
“This case has certainly aggravated negative feelings about South Africa,” Hugo Pienaar, chief economist at the Bureau for Economic Research, told AFP.
AfriForum, a white minority advocacy group, accuses the ruling ANC of leading the country to “economic suicide” by siding with Russia.
Some worry that South Africa could find itself excluded from AGOA, a mechanism that exempts certain African countries from export taxes to the United States and of which Pretoria is the main beneficiary.
“The question is very serious,” notes Mr. Silke, for a “vulnerable” South African economy facing almost zero growth.