LETTER: Agoa talks in US acid test

In these days of miracle and wonder, don’t think SA is isolated in its own sea of troubles. Though just a bit player, the ongoing global tectonic shifts will result in SA earthquakes too.

The government delegation visiting Washington in a bid to save the African Growth & Opportunities Act (Agoa) and “Western” goodwill must end either in a rebuff as a message to other African countries, or in a set of non-negotiable demands (“Mission to Washington to safeguard R400bn in trade will be futile”, April 18).

These could include things such as the use of the naval base at Simon’s Town, like the British had up to 1975, or access to the Cape’s rare-earth mineral deposits. Given that emotional nationalism generally trumps rational economic considerations, it is likely that on the delegation’s return SA will be shaken to find itself on the Russian/Chinese side of the fault line.

Western Cape premier Alan Winde’s threat to arrest Vladimir Putin if he sets foot in the province is interesting. Imagine the global ramifications if this actually happened. Was Winde just playing politics, or was it something more?

The hysterical reaction from Pretoria suggests  that a DA/US strategy for an “independent” Western Cape may be more advanced than generally thought. Money and weapons for strategic bases and minerals. And if it all went pear-shaped such as in Ukraine, US voters wouldn’t be overly concerned.

James Cunningham
Camps Bay

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