Offer solutions and stop whining

DOUGLAS Gibson’s (Time to reset foreign policy, The Star, November 29), did not help.

There is no foreign policy which is purely based on economic considerations and there is none which is purely political. It is always a mixed bag and often responds to the changing nature of the political situation, not the rigid legal framework.

Gibson complains that the embassies are way too many. He may have a point but his comments on the issue are similar to the ones any heavy- weight boxer can utter and not a former ambassador. He still does not give facts and figures which may assist the government, assuming that a decision to reduce the number of embassies is taken.

Just like someone who only complains that people are overfed when his/her stomach is already full from the same feeding scheme, Gibson did not complain about the number of embassies when he was appointed ambassador.

A chance to fill up his pockets – and to prove to his family that no one except him could negotiate a complex world of diplomacy and foreign policy implementation – had arisen, never to be missed by a hungry Gibson.

Indeed – at least according to him – the president had run short of black talent. At his advanced age, it is logical to expect Gibson to come up with solutions to whatever challenge the country faces and not only complain or highlight problems. Moitsedikwalo Ntshabele