Question NW3038 to the President of the Republic
09 October 2023 - NW3038
Manyi, Mr M to ask the President of the Republic
Noting that the outcome of the Lady R investigation has cleared the Government of any wrongdoing, what has been the total monetary cost to the Republic in terms of Rands lost due to the loss of confidence in the Republic; (2) whether the Republic will dismiss and/or request the United States of America to recall the American Ambassador, Mr Reuben Brigety, who was seemingly misleading the public and the international community by accusing the Republic of loading arms to Russia?
Reply:
A preliminary analysis by the National Treasury considered that there was a significant depreciation in the rand against the US dollar in May 2023, as much as 2.4%. While this was in part due to the pronouncements of the US Ambassador to South Africa regarding the Lady R vessel, other variables would need to be considered to arrive at a monetary cost, such as concerns about high inflation, debt servicing costs and the impact of loadshedding. To assign a monetary value to a single event would therefore be speculative. There is no doubt, however, that the elevated geopolitical risk was to blame for the Rand’s further depreciation.
Following the allegations made by US Ambassador Reuben Brigety, he was démarched by DIRCO and admonished by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, who expressed her outrage and displeasure at the manner in which the allegations were made. There are prescribed diplomatic protocols which should have been used to convey any concerns of the US Government in relation to the Lady R vessel.