Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said South Africa’s stance on the Russia and Ukraine conflict has been guided by the ruling African National Congress’s (ANC’s) iconic document, the Freedom Charter.

The document states: “respect the right of sovereignty of all nations. We shall strive to maintain world peace and the settlement of international dispute by negotiations and not war. Peace and friendship amongst all our people shall be secured by upholding the equal rights opportunities and status of all”.

Minister Zulu was addressing delegates in her capacity as chair of the ANC Subcommittee on International Relations during a webinar organised by the Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC's) BRICS Research Centre in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies to examine South Africa’s foreign policy position on Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Zulu shared that the ANC was dealing with the policy decisions taken at the ANC’s 54th National Conference of 2017 in preparations for the upcoming elective conference in December.

South African government has been criticised for sitting on the fence on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has seen millions of Ukrainians displaced while thousands have lost their lives since February 24.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been questioned after the Presidency failed to produce transcripts of the call.

She said approaching and treating the symptoms of the conflict in isolation from the factors that underlie it, is the darkest point of unreason and unparalleled denialism.  

“We believe from the ANC that efforts to uphold peace, create friendship and neighbourliness and promote sustainable trade and prosperity between Russia and the eastern bloc countries, in particular Ukraine, is a matter that without undue external influences and interferences, [and with] enticements, these countries can settle between themselves through a process that is facilitated by parties of unimpeachable integrity,” said Zulu.

Zulu sought to explain that as the global community and as fellow human beings in particular, it ought to be clear the conflict must be informed by the pre-eminent sanctity of life at all times and the related means for all to eliminate all insecurities and threats that have been helping to expedite and deepen tensions in the region since the end of the Cold War.

Second, were the enduring principles of sovereignty and international peace rather than the unfeasible quest for peace through sponsoring conflict and imposing sanctions on ordinary citizens.

Thirdly, was the promotion of security for Russia and Ukraine alike, amid the simmering insecurities and vulnerabilities and not ignoring the history that has brought everyone to this unnecessary conflict.

Lastly, there was the need to ensure that all sides respect the establishment of  humanitarian corridors to minimise the human cost of the conflict on civilians.

Zulu said the ANC has been consistently calling for the neighboring countries to engage in meaningful dialogue.

She said instead of the dealing with the root cause and seeking to bring both sides to negotiations, it was unfortunate that the various resolutions on the matter had been used to harden positions and not serve as the purpose of promoting dialogue.

The Minister also called for credible negotiations to bring the conflict to an end as continuing in this fashion will bring more economic pressures as countries try to recover from Covid-19.

“We stand firm on bringing the two sides to a negotiating table to make sure that there is peace in the world, “ she said.

Meanwhile Wits School of Governance Associate Professor and HSRC Honorary Research Fellow Professor William Gumede warned that South African would see a double financial whammy where public finances were squeezed as we were likely to see an increase in food and energy costs.  

Gumede said this may drag economic growth in the country as it was trying to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in low growth.

The African continent, he said, would likely experience more coups and increased hunger.

He said NGOs that benefit from Western development benefits would suffer as funds are diverted to the Ukraine crisis.

Gumede said we were also likely to see a repeat of the unrest that we saw last year in July with the poor most affected.

Politically, Gumede said we could see low growth and unemployment and more pressure on the fiscus.

Politically, he said the ANC has political ties with Russia that make it difficult to take sides as illustrated by relations between it and former Jacob Zuma and serving Deputy President David Mabuza.

He concluded that more than a quarter of African countries received the majority of their income from foreign donations and this could impact many of them as these funds could be moved to assist in Ukraine.