THE DA’s Federal Chairperson, Helen Zille, has accused the ANC of “selling out” the country’s foreign policy to rogue regimes for a fee.
While stating she had no evidence to support her claim, Zille alleged that the ANC is accepting money from “rogue countries” and using South Africa’s foreign policy to promote their agendas, which was disguised as legitimate positions taken by the government.
She has implied that the country’s fight in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where South Africa has accused the state of Israel of genocide in Gaza, raises questions about whether this stance was genuinely representative of the country or if it was a “quid pro quo” resulting from funding received by the ANC from these rogue nations.
The ANC has a long-standing policy in support of a free Palestine. It is reported that South Africa is spending millions of rand in its fight at the ICJ, where it is presenting evidence that the war in Gaza constitutes genocide.
During negotiations for the Government of National Unity (GNU), Zille said that the ANC made it clear it was willing to engage on all portfolios except for the portfolio on International Relations.
Speaking recently in a video posted on X, Zille recounted that during the negotiations the ANC insisted on this portfolio.
“The interesting thing was that during the negotiations on the GNU, there was one portfolio that the ANC obsessively had to control; they were absolutely obsessed about it.”
Zille expressed her confusion regarding the ANC’s insistence on this particular portfolio, stating: “This is my conclusion; I have no evidence of this whatsoever. The ANC gets funded by these rogue regimes. I think they get funded by Iran; I think they get funded by Russia.
“I don’t think the ICJ matter was an initiative by the South African government. I think they (ANC) have such a connection with these rogue regimes for funding…” she said.
When asked about making the claim public despite the admitted lack of evidence, Zille told The Mercury that people should “join the dots”.
She also said she was not concerned about whether the claims could undermine the GNU. The ANC said it had seen the video and would respond, but had not done so by yesterday evening.
Political analyst Thabani Khumalo said Zille’s comments was just the latest indication of the lack of unity within the GNU.
Khumalo noted that the portfolio of international relations is a key area that the ANC, as the majority partner, could not afford to sacrifice.
“It is possible that the ANC is issuing this portfolio for fund-raising activities, but this is a key portfolio. There are at least three portfolios that the party could not afford to sacrifice; if it were, it would be sacrificing its heart and soul.”
He added that the GNU is facing a serious crisis in communication and needs to address this, or it could lead to its collapse.
Another political analyst, Siyabonga Ntombela, criticised Zille’s conduct, stating that she cannot speak ill of the ANC as a coalition partner, even if the DA aims to unseat the ANC one day.
“I suspect the reason the ANC held on to this ministry was to ensure that the strides it had made on the Gaza-Israel matter were not reversed by the DA.
“I think Zille is shaking the tree, hoping something might come out. The same allegation can be levelled against the DA, saying it is receiving money from the USA to push liberal policies and promote privatisation.”