I would like to start off today by paying tribute to a former Member of this House, Dene Smuts. She was a fine lady and an outstanding Parliamentarian. In doing so she was a fierce defender of the Constitution and Human Rights. May her soul rest in peace.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) derives its responsibility from the Constitution of South Africa, 1996 and the National Development Plan (NDP). Chapter 7 of the NDP envisions South Africa as a globally competitive economy and an influential leading member of the international community. The plan envisions South Africa (SA) as promoting and contributing to sustainable development, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and peace and security within the global arena.

With a proudly acclaimed global footprint of 125 missions worldwide, I submit, that the Minister and the Ambassadors at our missions are finding it infinitely embarrassing to defend SA in light of the Constitutional Court’s finding that the President of South Africa violated the Constitution. Much is made of SA’s national interests which are rooted in the values enshrined in our Constitution. The State is the prime custodian of constitutional responsibility. So when the Head of State violates this very Constitution for self-gain, not only is it going against national interest, but it compromises our country on the world platform.

DIRCO recently won an award from UNIVERSUM where it was rated as the third-best employer. Is this an achievement? I think not. The real reason why many employees love working for DIRCO is because their internal checks and balances are likely to be the worst in the world and where less than ethical behaviour lands you a plum job as an Ambassador.

Let’s talk a little about Chris Ngcobo. He was a former police officer. He consistently lied about having a matric certificate and faced a disciplinary committee. He resigned before the disciplinary committee could happen but, lo and behold, he is now Ambassador to Mali. I ask you, with tears in my eyes, no matric, but he is SA’s Ambassador. The Portfolio Committee in its BRR report for 2014 observed that some diplomats have been tasked with administrative responsibilities not appropriate for their educational backgrounds and professional experience.

Given this observation in 2014, is the appointment of Ngcobo just plain stupidity on the part of DIRCO or a carefully orchestrated plan to self-destruct?

Let’s take Dr Pheko, Ambassador to Japan, who claims to have a doctorate. This doctorate was obtained 4 years after a university which issued fake degrees closed. She remains Ambassador to Japan. Incidentally, President Zuma knew of her fake degree when she was Ambassador to Canada, did nothing about it but instead sent her on to Japan.

Let’s not forget Bruce Koloane, who landed a diplomatic posting in the Netherlands. He was the fall guy in the Guptagate scandal.

No wonder DIRCO is a great place to work.  If you cheat and lie, you only have to say sorry and you still get to keep your job!!

DIRCO’s mission statement proclaims that SA is regarded as a champion for the protection and promotion of Human Rights. Regrettably SA’s voting record at the United Nations Human Rights Council has been uninspiring to say the least. Our flip-flop handling of the UN Resolution on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a case in point. We first voted against it along with North Korea, Syria, China and Russia, but later shifted our position to support it. This too only after it was reported in the media. A rather feeble excuse of “we didn’t have the full information in the first instance” was offered as a possible reason for this faux pas. Similarly, SA is in agreement with the urgent need for UN reform but we are not vocal in lobbying a resolution calling for such reform.

In an effort to shore up its role of big brother on the continent, SA has undertaken too many foreign payments which the taxpayer is bankrolling. An example is the R2 billion for the BRICS Development Bank which could balloon to R24 billion over the next 6 years; and R123 million for our UN contribution.

In June 2014, at the AU Heads of State Summit, the very same one which Al-Bashir brazenly attended and then ran away from in the dark of night, a funding model was discussed which proposed a R700million per year payment for the upkeep of the AU. This amount almost doubles our current payment. No mention was made of this during the Department briefing to the Portfolio Committee. At the time, former Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene, said that the Minister of DIRCO was “attending to the matter”. Madam, can you please advise this House, what is the status of this resolution?

SA is the host country for the Pan African Parliament (PAP) and while most of the original agreement has been honoured, it is definitely time for a review. The current President of PAP has turned the PAP into a bit of a circus. Fancy robes and insignia. Demands of a S Class Mercedes. And the list goes on.

The PAP protocol asking for PAP to change its status from a consultative body to a legislative one was lodged with this Parliament last year, but has yet to be discussed by the Portfolio Committee. It has some serious implications and we would be well advised to look at it very, very carefully.

In conclusion, in keeping with the Minister of Finance’s call for austerity measures and one of the aspirations of the NDP, the DA calls for DIRCO to conduct an audit of foreign representation in terms of whether the country should maintain its current global footprint. We look forward to the review.