SA Foreign Policy Fails Again
This administration’s foreign policy is becoming more of a mystery to me. Following the puzzling no vote at the UN over the resolution against Myanmar SA has now declined to send any peacekeeping troops to Somalia.
After the formation of the African Union there was much ballyhoo about finding African solutions to African problems, especially an African peace keeping force to be deployed in the various hotspots that dot the continent. South Africa, having the most sophisticated military force in Africa and being the leading proponent of an “African Renaissance”, is expected to provide a significant contribution towards any peace keeping activities and to that affect we already have troops in Burundi and the Congo.
Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota decided it would be best to explore other options. If the Ethiopian soldiers, who helped the interim Somali government defeat the Islamist rebels, are not replaced when they withdraw the country might implode into war again.
Update: SA out in the cold at DavosSouth Africa is losing valuable opportunities to secure foreign investment because of its close political ties with the rest of Africa.