LETTER: Wrong sort of friends
The SA government seeks financial help from the West while siding with Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela
At the recent meeting of the World Bank Group in Washington, finance minister Tito Mboweni and his director-general, Dondo Mogajane, lobbied Western nations to assist Zimbabwe’s economy and normalise relations with the IMF. “A stable Zimbabwe is a stable SA,” said Mogajane when he met his counterparts from the US, France and Germany. This is undoubtedly true, but it remains to be seen whether the US and Western nations will listen to our finance minister given that our friends — Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela — are not the friends of the US and Europe. Indeed, President Cyril Ramaphosa and international relations and co-operation minister Lindiwe Sisulu have been vocal about US President Donald Trump and Europe’s antagonistic attitude toward Venezuela and Cuba. There is also the recent announcement by Sisulu that all relations with Israel were being severed. The ANC government must surely know that, given the US’s close relationship with Israel, this “boycott” will harm ou...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.