The US House of Representatives is examining a bill concerning the country’s relations with South Africa, as tensions simmer between the two nations.
South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, recently visited Washington, DC, presumably to engage with the US strategic community and clarify Pretoria’s stance on significant areas of disagreement with Washington.
The bill stated, “In contrast to its stated stance of nonalignment, the South African Government has a history of siding with malign actors, including Hamas, a U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and a proxy of the Iranian regime, and continues to pursue closer ties with the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) and the Russian Federation”.
The bill asserted that the African National Congress (ANC) maintained connections with Hamas since 1994 when the ANC first assumed power.
According to the bill, South African government officials and ANC leaders made anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. This accusation stemmed from a statement issued by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, attributing the attack to Israel’s “continued illegal occupation of Palestine.”
The bill also outlined instances where South African leaders, including Minister Pandor, have criticized Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and engaged in communication with leaders from Hamas and Iran.
South Africa Drifting to the East
The bill also highlighted South Africa’s significant ties with Russia, described as a “robust relationship” spanning both military and political domains. Additionally, the bill addresses South Africa’s interactions with the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
South Africa holds the title of being the primary trading partner in Africa for both the US and China.
US President Joe Biden is expected to submit a report containing the results of the relationship reassessment to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations within 120 days following the enactment of the bill, should it proceed.
Experts say the bill will likely not affect the relationship between the US and South Africa. “It really seems unlikely to me that this bill will pass both Houses of Congress and get signed by the president,” said Joel Samoff, a retired adjunct professor at the Center for African Studies at Stanford University.
According to Samoff, both South Africa and the US regard their relationship as significant, and he anticipates efforts from both sides to uphold it. He further suggested that Pandor’s visit to the US likely aimed to alleviate tensions between the two nations.
Samoff described the US bill as a “symbolic act rather than a legislative act” introduced to signal that policymakers and legislators in Washington are “not happy that South Africa has brought a case to the International Court [of Justice]”.
He explained that this is because “politics is politics” and both countries face political pressures to move in various directions, but on a larger scale, “the relationship is important enough to protect it”.
Naledi Pandor visited Washington on March 19 to discuss the tense ties with US Congress members.
In an interview on March 28 Pandor said, “There’s almost an implication that when America holds a particular position, South Africa must follow,” adding that other countries that hold the same position as South Africa might not be dealt with the same way. “I don’t know whether it’s because we’re Africans or some other reason.”
She suggested that the bill’s introduction could be linked to South Africa’s position regarding Israel’s conflict with Gaza, as well as South Africa’s initiation of a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29, 2023.
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