Out of a fatal combination of naïveté and arrogance, South Africa’s African National Congress government may have made a massive foreign policy miscalculation.

This would place the country in the greatest economic and political danger that it has been for decades. At risk are billions of rands in investment flows, many thousands of jobs, and important historical ties with the Western democracies whose democratic and human rights values we purport to share.

Thursday’s claim by the United States ambassador to Pretoria that SA is clandestinely providing armaments to Russia was explosive. The rand tanked on currency markets and while it may recover, its vulnerability signals the grave disquiet of overseas investors.

As damaging to our national reputation was President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response. Refusing to confirm or deny the veracity of Ambassador Reuben Brigety’s bluntly worded statement, Ramaphosa blandly told Parliament that he would appoint a commission of inquiry, headed by a retired judge, to establish the truth.

This may be characteristic of Ramaphosa, always dithering and stalling, trying to avoid confrontation. After all, what president anywhere else would opt for a protracted judicial investigation instead of just picking up the phone to the Minister of Defence, Thandi Modise?

source:Has the ANC govt finally gone too far? – OPINION | Politicsweb