ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is adamant that President Cyril Ramaphosa will not agree to the signing of the visa-free access deal between South Africa and Ukraine.
This comes after Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced on Sunday that he had signed an agreement granting visa-free access for holders of diplomatic, official, and service passports between the two nations.
At the time, Schreiber made it seem like the deal was already done, causing an uproar. However, the deal needed Ramaphosa’s approval and he has not signed the deal.
Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola hosted his Ukrainian counterpart, Minister Andrii Sybiha, at a meeting. The outcomes of their meeting are expected to be announced in due time.
Schreiber's announcement also led to questions on the leadership of the Government of National Unity (GNU), with some thinking that the Democratic Alliance (DA) was in charge of the GNU.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, raised concerns regarding the validity of Schreiber's declaration, stating that Ramaphosa had not authorised the Minister to sign any agreement with Ukraine.
“The President is yet to sign the minute authorising the Minister to sign the agreement with Ukraine. It is unclear how the Minister can announce the signature of an international agreement without prior formal authorisation to do so,” he said in his tweet.
At the four-day National Executive Committee (NEC) held in Boksburg on Monday, Mbalula said Ramaphosa would not sell out to the DA.
The ANC was also launching an education programme to address to combat internal factionalism and strengthen leadership.
He said the DA was disrespecting the ANC, because they did not win the outright majority vote in the May 29 election.
“The DA is disrespectful towards the ANC and they won't stop. They do this because we did not win power, we did not win an outright majority,” he said.
Mbalula was confident that the ANC would come back to power and rule again.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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