Why did DA go solo on charm offensive mission to the US? Party insists it was urgent

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says its recent mission to the US was an attempt to present facts to President Donald Trump’s administration, to try to save the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) deal which seems to be in jeopardy amid the friction. 

IOL reported on Wednesday that Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has expressed disappointment over the DA’s recent “quiet” week-long visit to the US claiming to support the country’s foreign policy.

Speaking to IOL, Lamola said representing South Africa's foreign policy is the preserve of the executive.

The DA’s visit to the US comes after the lobby groups representing Afrikaners, AfriForum and Solidarity, have been frequenting Washington DC, following Trump’s decision to offer South Afrikaners refuge in the US.

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On Thursday, DA’s Member of Parliament and spokesperson on international relations and cooperation Emma Louise Powell told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that given the precarious position in the bilateral relations, the DA felt it had to intervene as well. She said the DA’s delegation does not undermine the government delegation set to be assigned by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“The DA’s outreach in Washington DC is ongoing and our visit last week forms part of broader efforts across the South Africa landscape to try and urgently de-escalate these heightened tensions and find a pathway towards stabilising the bilateral relationship. The president’s delegation will of course go ahead, I believe it will be a multi-party GNU delegation - we are looking forward to hearing more about that.

“As the second largest stakeholder in the Government of National Unity, we felt that in light of just our significant, heightened tensions and their implications for South Africa, that it was urgent for leaders from our party go to Washington DC, we could open communication channels and provide credible, accurate, fact-based information as to South Africa’s domestic landscape, the challenges we are confronting and to find out from US legislators and policy-makers how we could, as South Africa and US, work together towards a path of de-escalation,” she said.

Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), Andrew Whitfield was part of the DA’s delegation to the US, and Powell said he only travelled in his capacity as a senior member of the DA’s federal executive and the party’s provincial leader for the Eastern Cape.

Powell said she does not know if Ramaphosa was informed about his deputy minister’s mission to the US. She said there was no DTIC business which was handled during the trip.

During the Newzroom Afrika interview, Powell denied quotes attributed to her in media reports stating that the US, under President Donald Trump, is seeking to cut a deal with South Africa that focusses on addressing "race-based laws".

“I have not actually seen that article; the Trump administration hasn't been clear in terms of what deal it is that they want from South Africa. It is clear from reading Trump’s executive order that was issued about a month ago now that the administration is concerned about the treatment of certain minority groups and South Africa’s race-based approach to development,” she said.

“I cannot speak to that sub-editing headline (Trump administration wants to cut deal with SA on 'race-based laws', DA says after Washington visit). It is not something that I conveyed to News24, but it is definitely clear from reading Trump’s executive order that they are deeply concerned about what they say is discrimination of minority groups in South Africa.”

In February, IOL reported that Trump had insisted that South Africa was "confiscating" land and "treating certain classes of people very badly", as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.

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