Cape Town – The general secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) Zwelinzima Vavi, says while the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) benefits South African exporters, the United States should not escape scrutiny for its support of Israel.
Vavi said this on Saturday, as he led small group of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the conference venue in Johannesburg.
Saturday was the last day of the Agoa summit as United States (US) officials met with trade officials from Africa.
According to EWN, the pro-Palestine groups, including the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) and pro-Palestine BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] called for an immediate ceasefire from Israel in its current onslaught on Gaza.
“While Agoa may hold symbolic importance, it is not a matter of life and death for South Africa. Even if Agoa were revoked, the trade relationships still heavily favour the United States,” Vavi said.
🔴 JUST IN🔴
Saftu’s Zwelinzima Vavi was live few moments ago, addressing supporters of Palestine in Jhb
Sadly, his speech was watched by less than 10 people.
The guy is no longer taken serious these days pic.twitter.com/1wGlz3a6yw
— Constitution First 🇿🇦 (@Constitution_94) November 4, 2023
He argued that the US should not receive a warm welcome in South Africa while it aligns with Israel, and he criticised President Joe Biden for not acknowledging any wrongdoing in this regard.
Vavi also accused the US of exploiting Agoa to stifle African leaders’ voices and expressed his dismay that representatives advocating for trade relations with Africa seemed unconcerned about the US’s financial and military support contributing to a humanitarian crisis involving harm to women and children.
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the extension of Agoa for a longer period to incentivise investors to establish new factories on the African continent.
“We would like you to look at the extension or renewal of Agoa for a sufficiently lengthy period for it to act as an incentive for investors to build new factories on the African continent.
“As we were going around talking to a number of product producers, the recurring message and word I heard is ‘we can do more…if this opportunity is extended and we can build more capacity if we have certainty that yes, the period of extension will be longer’.
“Shorter periods of extension impede investment ambitions and we therefore want to see a much lengthier period of extension. The United States and Africa… are going to be here for a long time. We are here for the long haul so let us make Agoa a long haul opportunity for all of us,” Ramaphosa said at the opening of the Agoa Forum on Friday.
Agoa provides duty-free and quota-free access to the US market for over 30 sub-Saharan countries for nearly 2 000 products.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
