National security adviser Sydney Mufamadi’s mission to the US was to address a US bill that would punish African countries that had relationships with “malign” Russian entities on the continent, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said on Tuesday.

Mufamadi’s delegation was also addressing a resolution drafted by the US House of Representatives which called on the Biden administration to review the US’s relationship with South Africa, she said.

Pandor was speaking at a seminar in Cape Town organised by her department and the South African Institute of International Affairs.

The ICC

She said there had been much speculation about the mission of Mufamadi’s envoys, including that it was concerned about the International Criminal Court (ICC). Pandor said it had nothing to do with the ICC and the US was not even a member of the ICC.

The ICC has issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This has created a dilemma for Pretoria since it has invited Putin to attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa in August, but as an ICC member SA could be obliged to arrest Putin if he does come to South Africa.

US officials have said it would be a problem if South Africa hosted Putin while he was on an ICC arrest warrant — just before the US and SA are to co-host the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum in South Africa.

Pandor’s explanation of Mufamadi’s mission was the first time she or her department had publicly addressed the subject.

Generally, the government has not been very forthcoming about the visit, although last week President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said Mufamadi would address the full range of issues in the relationship between the US and SA. This would include South Africa’s continued participation in Agoa, which gives duty-free and quota-free access to the US market for most exports from eligible African countries, including SA.

SA’s refusal to condemn Russia

Threats have emanated from the US Congress, which has jurisdiction over Agoa, to reduce or terminate SA’s participation because it is deemed to be acting against US national security interests by its refusal to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and for shifting closer to Russia since the war in Ukraine started.

These issues are covered by the House of Representatives’ Resolution 145, which Pandor said Mufamadi was addressing in his meetings with US government officials, congressional leaders and business organisations.

Read more in Daily Maverick: US Congress mulls resolution to oppose SA’s naval exercise with Russia and China

The resolution, tabled by House Republicans in February, called on the Biden administration to review the US’s relations with South Africa — specifically including the benefits it derives from Agoa — in the light of what it regarded as SA’s warming relations with both Russia and China. 

The resolution appeared to have been inspired particularly by the joint naval exercises which SA had just held with Russia and China

The other issue which Pandor said Mufamadi was addressing was the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act” which would sanction Russian entities such as the Wagner private military company, which is becoming increasingly active on the continent, apparently acting as a proxy for the Russian government and often with the intent of frustrating Western governments and undermining their relations with African governments.

Read more in Daily Maverick: US bill to counter ‘malign’ Russian activities in Africa could see continent caught in crossfire

The bill was passed by an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives more than a year ago, but the Senate has not picked it up, and Senate sources have told Daily Maverick it is unlikely to do so. Congressional sources also doubt Resolution 145 will be passed and are even more doubtful that the Senate would adopt a similar resolution. 

US’s controversial Africa-Russia bill is a red herring – congressional aides

So it is unclear why Pretoria is taking the two measures so seriously — except for the fact that they reveal the direction of thinking in the US Congress and further afield in Washington, about South Africa. 

Pandor told the seminar that one of her Western counterparts had expressed dismay about Wagner’s presence across Africa. She said she had pointed out it was only present in some African countries. He had replied that Wagner was only interested in extracting raw materials from African countries. Pandor said she had replied that if so it would not be the first to do that in Africa.

She said she told him: “If you come to Africa to build smelters and refineries, I’m with you.”

Uganda’s homophobia

Pandor implicitly acknowledged at the seminar that the ANC had been remiss in not condemning Uganda for its homophobia, in particular the legislation it recently passed, which makes “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by death.

Pandor said: “I have asked my ANC colleagues, why do we allow the EFF to talk about Uganda? We as a political party should speak about it.”

The minister said she had recently been in a meeting with some of her foreign minister peers when she expressed the view that everyone should simply accept same-sex relationships. She said she was greeted by silence. Pandor did not say which countries the other foreign ministers were from.

Pandor was also candid when she reiterated South Africa’s familiar call for a reform of the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to make it more representative.

She said even some of South Africa’s BRICS partners did not support the reforms South Africa wanted. She was evidently referring to the fact that while three BRICS members, South Africa, India and Brazil, are seeking permanent seats on an expanded Security Council, the two BRICS members which already have permanent seats, Russia and China, have never explicitly supported the bids by the other three members. DM