ANC to world powers: SA is not a colonised country
The African National Congress (ANC) has lashed out five Western powers saying they should not interfere in South Africa's internal affairs.
The United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland sent a discussion paper directly to President Cyril Ramaphosa urging him to deal with allegations of state capture and policy changes related to mining.
The Department of International Relations released a statement over the weekend, condemning the five embassies for not following proper diplomatic processes.
"South Africa is not a client state, we are not a colonised country where we must account between a master and a slave. We have our own internal laws including the efforts we are doing through the establishment of these various commissions which are now investigating corruption," says ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.
Kodwa says the government is doing everything to restore the credibility and integrity of public institutions and the rule of law.
"They cannot impose themselves on South Africa, yet as a sovereign state, South Africa is doing everything it can to address the issues they are raising. When they are faced with their own issues, we respect their laws, like the economic sluggish growth we have which was a result of the economic global meltdown of 2008, which was started by the united nations, we never complained about it," added Kodwa.
He said their action is motivated by regime change, which needs to be rejected.
International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and senior officials from the department met with the Heads of Mission on Monday to express its displeasure.
“The Heads of the Diplomatic Missions regretted the misunderstanding and further clarified that the discussion paper had been sent to the Presidency to contribute to the dialogue on how South Africa can attract more foreign direct investment,” the department said in a statement.