Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised the ninth BRICS Parliamentary Forum held in Johannesburg this week, calling it “shambolic” and a “national embarrassment”.
The party blamed the African National Congress (ANC) for incompetence, raising concerns about South Africa’s reliability as a partner within the BRICS group.
The forum, which focused on climate change and African partnerships, concluded after two days of discussions.
The DA Member of Parliament and forum delegate, Emma Louise Powell, pointed out that South Africa had over 45 MPs in attendance, while Russia was represented by just one delegate.
“The ANC’s complete disregard for professionalism, time-keeping, and organisation, combined with underwhelming representation from several key member countries has rendered the Forum little more than an anti-Western propaganda talk-shop.
“Whilst more than 45 Members of the South African Parliament were required to attend the Forum, Russia was represented by a single delegate, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev. Kosachev, who is sanctioned by numerous countries throughout the world, failed to arrive aboard his scheduled flight on Tuesday 26th, belatedly opting to address the Forum via video link from the safety of his Kremlin boardroom. Kosachev’s failure to attend the Forum is a stark reminder of the diplomatic isolation that Russia continues to navigate as a result of their illegal invasion of Ukraine,” said Powell in a statement.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
