Pretoria - International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane has set the record straight over reports of her overseas hotel stays and charted flights.
The minister said she was the "most-travelled" minister because of the "responsibility attached to the portfolio" since President Jacob Zuma has been appointed by the leaders of the continent to champion the integration of infrastructure in Africa.
"I forget about myself. I put the interest of my country first, my government, my people and that of my continent first ... because that is what African renaissance is about and what the country's foreign policy requires of us to do," Nkoana-Mashabane said in her last media briefing of the year.
The minister was responding to questions based on a Parliamentary reply regarding amounts spent on charted and commercial flights for overseas trips since April last year.
With regards to taking charted flights, the minister said most of the countries that she has visited have no direct flights from South Africa, hence sometimes she had been forced to travel to three countries before arriving at her destination.
However, she said that where a commercial flight was available, she uses it.
"We use charters only when there is a need to do that."
The minister went on to say that she was not even involved in the process of chartering the flights, and was sure due process, as stipulated in government's Public Finance Management Act, was adhered to, as everything gets audited by the Auditor General.
Moving on to developments in the continent and the world, the minister committed Pretoria to support the AU's efforts of bringing peace, political reform, justice and human rights to many conflict affected countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Madagascar, DRC, Darfur and the crisis in the Middle East.
She said South Africa would not rest until peace, stability, national reconciliation and the boost for democratic process were found in these countries. She urged the international community to support these countries' quest for freedom, human rights and dignity.
South Africa hopes to use its UN Security Council's non-permanent member seat to sway this agenda. Pretoria will chair as the President of the UNSC for the month of January.
"We believe we are playing a constructive role, pursuing the interests of our country and the continent."
Asked to comment on the recent DRC elections, where tensions are high after Joseph Kabila was announced the winner, Nkoana-Mashabane said people "must get used to the democratic process".
Kabila had received 49 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi got 32 percent. Tshisekedi and his supporters have rejected the vote results.
She said the elections were "generally ok" taking to account that they could not run away from the infrastructure challenges that that country has.
The minister then turned focus back on the country, and discouraged South Africans from committing criminal activities in other countries.
This comes after the execution of South African drug mule Janice Linden in China this week and the arrest of 23-year-old Nolubabalo Nobanda, who is currently being held in a Thai jail, after being caught trying to smuggle drugs in her dreadlocks this week. It is believed over 1 000 others are incarcerated in jails all over the world.
The minister said the process to establish prisoner exchange programmes was still underway and could not tell how long it would take before it came into effect.
Nkoana-Mashabane said her department would provide consular support for Nobanda. Officials from the South African embassy in Thailand were set to visit her in prison today. - BuaNews
The minister said she was the "most-travelled" minister because of the "responsibility attached to the portfolio" since President Jacob Zuma has been appointed by the leaders of the continent to champion the integration of infrastructure in Africa.
"I forget about myself. I put the interest of my country first, my government, my people and that of my continent first ... because that is what African renaissance is about and what the country's foreign policy requires of us to do," Nkoana-Mashabane said in her last media briefing of the year.
The minister was responding to questions based on a Parliamentary reply regarding amounts spent on charted and commercial flights for overseas trips since April last year.
With regards to taking charted flights, the minister said most of the countries that she has visited have no direct flights from South Africa, hence sometimes she had been forced to travel to three countries before arriving at her destination.
However, she said that where a commercial flight was available, she uses it.
"We use charters only when there is a need to do that."
The minister went on to say that she was not even involved in the process of chartering the flights, and was sure due process, as stipulated in government's Public Finance Management Act, was adhered to, as everything gets audited by the Auditor General.
Moving on to developments in the continent and the world, the minister committed Pretoria to support the AU's efforts of bringing peace, political reform, justice and human rights to many conflict affected countries like Sudan, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Madagascar, DRC, Darfur and the crisis in the Middle East.
She said South Africa would not rest until peace, stability, national reconciliation and the boost for democratic process were found in these countries. She urged the international community to support these countries' quest for freedom, human rights and dignity.
South Africa hopes to use its UN Security Council's non-permanent member seat to sway this agenda. Pretoria will chair as the President of the UNSC for the month of January.
"We believe we are playing a constructive role, pursuing the interests of our country and the continent."
Asked to comment on the recent DRC elections, where tensions are high after Joseph Kabila was announced the winner, Nkoana-Mashabane said people "must get used to the democratic process".
Kabila had received 49 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi got 32 percent. Tshisekedi and his supporters have rejected the vote results.
She said the elections were "generally ok" taking to account that they could not run away from the infrastructure challenges that that country has.
The minister then turned focus back on the country, and discouraged South Africans from committing criminal activities in other countries.
This comes after the execution of South African drug mule Janice Linden in China this week and the arrest of 23-year-old Nolubabalo Nobanda, who is currently being held in a Thai jail, after being caught trying to smuggle drugs in her dreadlocks this week. It is believed over 1 000 others are incarcerated in jails all over the world.
The minister said the process to establish prisoner exchange programmes was still underway and could not tell how long it would take before it came into effect.
Nkoana-Mashabane said her department would provide consular support for Nobanda. Officials from the South African embassy in Thailand were set to visit her in prison today. - BuaNews
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