Gayton McKenzie's meeting with the United States ambassador 'undermines country's foreign policy'

While the Patriotic Alliance (PA) has defended the meeting between its party leader, Gayton McKenzie, who is also the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, and the United States ambassador, political analysts said that the meeting appears to undermine the country’s foreign policy position.

McKenzie met with United States Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III on Friday at his residence.

The meeting comes after International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that Bozell had been démarched to explain his recent anti-diplomatic comments in public.

Bozell made the remarks during his attendance at a conference in Hermanus, Western Cape, on Tuesday, where he commented about the "Kill the Boer" chant.

Bozell said, "I’m sorry; I don’t care what your courts say. It’s hate speech."

McKenzie had visited Bozell on Friday in what the PA described as a meeting which took place in “a spirit of mutual respect” and open dialogue.

“He left the discussion encouraged and optimistic about the future of relations between South Africa and the United States. For some time, relations between our countries have experienced strain and misunderstanding. With the arrival of Ambassador Bozell – a man of discernment, experience, and the trust of President Donald J. Trump – South Africa has a genuine opportunity to reset and strengthen this important relationship,” the PA said.

“President Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about allegations of violence against white South Africans and claims of ‘white genocide’. The Patriotic Alliance believes the way forward is not denial or outrage, but honest engagement and clarity.

“We know South Africa is not a genocidal country. It emerged from one of the most bitter and divided pasts and built a constitutional democracy founded on human dignity, equality and the protection of life. But it is also true that violent crime, including farm murders and attacks in rural areas, causes deep fear and trauma,” the PA said.

“Issues that drive debate and perception must always be discussed openly and responsibly, without dismissal. This is why constructive engagement with the United States will always be important. Ambassador Bozell’s presence creates an opportunity for frank conversation between two democratic nations that should be partners, not adversaries. He can be, and would clearly like to be, a bridge to restore our relationship with the world’s most powerful democracy,” the PA said.

Political analysts have said that the meeting between McKenzie and Bozell does appear to undermine the country’s geopolitical stance at face value, but more so, it undermines the ANC's interests.

Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said that when it comes to whether or not McKenzie had misstepped, this came down to several factors.

“It depends on how the meeting was convened, and who requested it? Was it from the side of the minister or was it from the side of the Embassy? That is the first question.

“And then the second question would be, when attending that meeting, did the minister get clearance from his principal, in this case, the president, or did he get clearance from DIRCO? The answers we get from those questions will then give us a clear picture as to whether this meeting was warranted or not.

“Until we know the details, it will be difficult to either applaud him or reprimand him for this particular visit,” Mngomezulu said.

“At face value, it paints a bad picture, because then it means that we are speaking in tongues. The government has a clear foreign policy position when it comes to America, and therefore, the president will have to make sure that all the ministers toe the line, because once a foreign policy position has been taken, all the ministers are supposed to basically abide by this particular policy, and not do anything different from that.

“Failure to do so would then mean that the president will have to act because all the ministers serve at the behest of the president. But if the president keeps quiet, then it means his accomplice to the crime, and if the minister is guilty, then the president is guilty.

Professor André Duvenhage echoed these sentiments, saying that he thinks it is a way of undermining the government of national unity from an ANC perspective.

“Without any doubt, because they are following the more pro-Israeli approach of the DA, and that type of line won't go down well with the ANC, and the current establishment, because the ANC believe they have the monopoly on foreign affairs.

Lecturer, Zakhele Ndlovu, said that he does not think it is a crime to meet with an ambassador of a country, “the challenge here is that McKenzie is a member of the government that is decidedly hostile towards the US”.

“It does come across as undermining SA's geopolitical strategy, or should I say the ANC's interest. There's a tendency on the part of the ANC to conflate its interests with those of the country. However, as much as McKenzie is a cabinet member, he's also a leader of a political party,” Ndlovu said. “The question is: how does he balance these two responsibilities?”

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za