The government is reviewing the diplomatic support provided to former heads of state travelling abroad after former president Jacob Zuma’s recent visit to India, which prompted the recall of South Africa’s high commissioner Anil Sooklal.
It has also called for consultations and a proposal for stricter oversight of official protocol assistance.
The announcement follows Zuma’s visit to India last month, when he met political and business figures, and was photographed with one of the Gupta brothers, Ajay. The trip drew scrutiny because the Gupta family is associated with allegations of state capture during Zuma’s presidency.
Ronald Lamola, the minister of international relations & co-operation, did not directly link the proposed policy changes to Zuma’s visit but announced both measures during a media briefing on Wednesday.
“We confirm that high commissioner Anil Sooklal has been recalled to headquarters for consultations,” Lamola said.
“We have also submitted a recommendation to parliament and the presidency to consider a new framework for protocol and diplomatic support to former presidents and former deputy presidents during international travel.”
“The presidency and the department of international relations & co-operation will establish a mandatory disclosure mechanism requiring former presidents and deputy presidents seeking protocol and diplomatic support to provide full details of the purpose of travel, programme of activities, sources of funding, principal hosts, key engagements and the capacity in which they will be travelling, to enable an informed assessment of the appropriate level of support required and any associated reputational, political, diplomatic or security risks,” he said.
Lamola had previously criticised Zuma’s trip to India, saying former heads of state could not conduct a “parallel foreign policy” or represent South Africa without an official mandate.
The department launched an internal inquiry into how the visit was facilitated and whether it complied with the Foreign Service Act.
“We always get a letter, and the letter is standard that indicates we must provide protocol to any of the presidents that do travel. But what we do ask for now is increased guidance and transparency about what these visits would be to safeguard not only the department but also the country’s national interests and reputation,” department director-general Zane Dangor said at the briefing.
“High commissioner Sooklal ... would have known [about Zuma’s visit] because we would be getting communication from the presidency that the former president would be visiting a country, in this case India.”
Business Day
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