The DA has on Thursday fiercely condemned the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) following the sudden, unannounced closure of the South African High Commission to the UK this week.

Located at the iconic South Africa House in London’s Trafalgar Square, the building has reportedly deteriorated to an unworkable state owing to decades of systemic neglect under the ANC government, the party said.

DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation Ryan Smith revealed that the closure follows severe operational disruptions that made the historic property completely uninhabitable for diplomatic staff.

He highlighted water issues, climate failure, sanitation collapse and structural decay.

Repairs to rescue the London property are now estimated to cost South African taxpayers just under R70-million. The DA noted that this entire financial burden could have been avoided had Dirco implemented a regular maintenance framework for the country’s prime international property portfolio.

The crisis at Trafalgar Square is not an isolated incident. Smith highlighted a similar collapse at the South African Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands.

He noted the Hague closure, for nearly a year now, under the guise of "repairs". He explained that local observation confirms no scaffolding has been erected and no construction workers have accessed the site. Smith said South African foreign service staff remain stranded in a temporary location.

This follows an oversight visit by the DA to the crumbling Netherlands facility in November 2025.

According to the DA, these decaying international properties serve as global symbols of local State failure, mirroring the broken infrastructure seen across ANC-managed municipalities at home.

The DA directly blamed International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola for siphoning critical funds away from asset maintenance and professional consular staffing. Instead, the party alleges Dirco continues to exhaust its budget on expensive international litigation and millions in humanitarian aid to political allies like Cuba.

This operational decay is confirmed in official State oversight findings. The sudden closure of South Africa House corroborates the Auditor-General’s 2024/25 Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report, which officially regressed Dirco’s audit outcomes owing to mismanaged foreign assets rendering key State properties entirely "uninhabitable".

As a partner in the Government of National Unity, the DA has distanced itself from these failures, criticising the ANC's subversion of the nation's foreign service.

"If Dirco is the outward face of the South African government abroad, then it is wrinkled, haggard, and decrepit. Our perception abroad is surely not much different,” said Smith.

The DA continues to demand an immediate reprioritisation of Dirco’s budget to safeguard the country’s remaining foreign assets and rebuild a professional, functional diplomatic corps.