Zuma going nowhere, irate SA tells Khama
Botswana tries to can visit, citing parly motion
BOTSWANA President Ian Khama was reluctant to come to South Africa to meet President Jacob Zuma, believing the president might be removed through a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly.
It took an intervention by International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to persuade her Botswana counterpart, Pelonomi VensonMoitoi, that Zuma was “looking forward” to welcoming Khama.
Khama and Zuma eventually met on Friday in Pretoria.
The Sunday Times can reveal that Khama’s government tried to cancel the meeting at the eleventh hour, citing the DA’s motion of no confidence in Zuma as the reason.
Had Khama snubbed Zuma, it could have caused further strains in the already sour relations between the two countries.
The incident was laid bare in a trail of communiqués — which the Sunday Times has seen — as officials from Pretoria and Gaborone finalised preparations for the bilateral talks.
In the exchange, Botswana government officials informed South Africa that the meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday should be called off because there was a chance that Zuma could be out of office by the time he was due to meet Khama.
“Due to the unpredictable nature of motions on the floor of parliament and the likelihood that we could not do all work on the morning of Friday, we recommend that the ministerial segment and the summit be rescheduled to the next available date at the convenience of their Excellencies,” wrote Venson-Moitoi in a message to Nkoana-Mashabane.
This did not sit well with Nkoana-Mashabane, who insisted in a reply that the meetings go ahead as planned because Zuma would still be in office regardless of the DA-sponsored motion, which was thwarted by the ANC majority.
“South Africa is fine with our democratic process, everything is going on well.
“The minister is looking forward to receive you from Thursday evening and the president is looking forward to receiving His Excellency on Friday.
“It’s always an honour to receive neighbours,” NkoanaMashabane’s response read.
Diplomatic relations between South Africa and Botswana have been hostile since Zuma and Khama became heads of state, unlike when former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Festus Mogae were still in office.
The Batswana are said to be unhappy that Pretoria declined to support Venson-Moitoi as a candidate to replace Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as head of the AU Commission.
But in a communique issued following the binational commission yesterday, the two countries finally agreed to endorse Venson-Moitoi to replace Dlamini-Zuma.
South African diplomats were also irked when Botswana condemned South Africa’s decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.
Khama irritated many when he called on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to resign. He is considered an outcast among African heads of state as he often fails to attend AU meetings.
Nkoana-Mashabane’s spokesman, Nelson Kgwete, said the two countries enjoyed “cordial relations” and trade between them was booming, with agreements signed in agriculture, science and technology, energy and transport.
They also agreed to work together to tackle the drought in the region.
“No challenges were experienced in the planning and execution of the event. South Africa maintains strong and cordial relations with Botswana,” said Kgwete.
Siphamandla Zondi, professor of international relations at the University of Pretoria, said the source of tensions between the two countries was Botswana’s tendency to “be a lone ranger” on issues that SADC countries agreed on.
Zondi said Gaborone’s criticism of Pretoria’s withdrawal from the ICC was another indication of the fraught relations, saying some within the South African diplomatic community regarded Botswana as a lackey of the West.
“Botswana tends to be a lone ranger charting its own course on matters about which there are already collective positions. South Africa is always careful to be a team player in regional affairs, the reason it is sometimes criticised for failure to ‘lead from the front’.
“There are tensions also over Pretoria’s push to have the Sacu [Southern African Customs Union] revenue-sharing formula changed in order to have a regional industrialisation fund, but such a change would impact Gaborone’s approved national budget, which includes anticipated Sacu receipts already. TROUBLE WITH THE NEIGHBOURS: Botswana President Ian Khama and President Jacob Zuma arrive at the presidential suite in Pretoria for bilateral talks that were almost called off
Botswana tends to be a lone ranger charting its own course