RESEARCH UNIT: Mpho Mashaba

PARLIAMENT

Analysis of the Department of Foreign Affairs Annual Report: 2007-08

22 October 2008

1. Introduction

The following sections analyse the Annual Report of the Department of Foreign Affairs (herein after referred to as, the Department or DFA) for the 2007/08 Financial Year. It focuses on assessing the performance of the key Programmes of the Department comprising of Administration, Foreign Relations, Public Diplomacy and International Transfers. The source documents for this analysis include the 2007 Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE), the 2007 State of the Nation Address, as well as the Department's Strategic Plan 2007-2010. The analysis gives special emphasis to Programme Two (Foreign Relations) which makes up the core of the work of the Department. The Department's African Renaissance and International Co-operation Fund report for 2007/08 is assessed in a separate report.

2. Legislative Mandate of the Department

In terms of the provisions of the Constitution, the President of the Republic of South Africa bears the overall responsibility for the country's foreign policy and international relations. However, the Department is entrusted with the formulation, promotion and execution of South Africa's foreign policy and with the daily conduct of South Africa's international relations. Thus, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the President, assumes overall responsibility for all aspects of South Africa's international relations. The Minister also liaises and consults with members of the Cabinet on aspects that overlap with the priorities and programmes of the other Ministries and Departments.

3. Strategic Objectives

The Department's strategic objectives comprise the following:

•	Promoting multilateralism in order to secure a rules-based international system

•	Conducting and co-ordinating South Africa's international relations and promoting its foreign policy objectives;

•	Monitoring international developments and advising Government on foreign policy and related domestic matters;

•	Protecting South Africa's sovereignty and territorial integrity;

•	Contributing to the formulation of international law and enhancing respect for the provision of international law;

•	Providing consular services to South Africans abroad; and

•	Through bilateral and multilateral interactions protecting and promoting South Africa's national interests and values;

•	Providing a world class South African State Protocol Service; and 

•	Maintaining a modern, effective and excellence driven Department.

4. Programme Performance

4.1. Programme One: Administration

The Programme is responsible for the overall policy development and management of the DFA. Its functions include providing for policy formulation by the Minister and the two Deputy Ministers, the Director-General and members of the Department's management. The Programme offers administrative office support and parliamentary services. It also provides consular and agency services in South Africa and abroad. It is also responsible for the procurement of assets such as vehicles and housing and it provides accommodation to all staff members that work abroad. Office maintenance in South Africa and abroad forms part of the Programme's key responsibilities.

The Programme identified the following strategic objectives in order to fulfil its mandate:

•	Enhancing corporate governance within the branch;

•	Acquiring a new head office building in Pretoria (Tshwane);

•	Modernising the Department's Information Technology infrastructure and ensuring its optimum use;

•	Proving cost-effective infrastructure accommodation and supporting the Department's work;

•	Providing Consular Services;

•	Implementing the financial system reforms in the with the PFMA;

•	Intensifying compliance with MISS and security policy requirements; and

•	Providing efficient Supply Chain Management.

In terms of its Property Management Portfolio, the Department valued its land acquisitions and buildings and updated its fixed register. The Department also commenced with the project of building a permanent structure for its head office.

The Department pressed on with the development of the Mission Financial System in the financial year under review. A foreign currency system was implemented as an interim measure as the Mission Accounting System was being built. The Department reports that the system was completed and pilot tests were undertaken, and thus the roll-out of the software would take place in the 2008/09 financial year.

Issues to consider

•	On page 36 it is noted that the Department entered into an Early Works Agreement in order to fix the costs (that are probably rising rapidly) of constructing the permanent structure that will house the head office for its total staff complement. It is also noted that as construction began the Department was anticipating to submit final documents for the approval of the construction to Treasury during the 2008/09 financial year. The Department should therefore confirm whether the final documents have indeed been submitted and the outcome thereof.

•	In a report of the Joint Budget Committee on expenditure for the first quarter of the 2008/09 financial year, it is noted that advances paid to foreign missions for monthly expenditures are paid from the suspense account. Thereafter, Expenditure is recorded once mission accounts interface with the Basic Accounting System (BAS) at head office. This is cited as an irregularity. Problems could emanate where as in previous years there is a possibility of substantial virements from the line item 'compensation of employees' during the budget adjustment. The PFMA provides that there may be no virements from the 'compensation of employees' budget line item, and from other line items only up to 8 percent may be transferred. This signals therefore that the Mission Accounting System is yet to be operational. The Department should therefore give reasons for the delays in the implementation of the System.

•	The Department is urged to provide a report on the 10 percent budget cut for all missions, which is a matter that has been raised before. The Department should provide information on over-expenditures, as well as the affected missions, including a breakdown of the expenditures and their purposes. The Department should indicate as to whether there were cases of financial mismanagement and what has been done to rectify the situation.

•	The department is urged as requested before, to furnish details of trips undertaken by senior officials of the Department. The information that is required should indicate costs involved in the trips and the number of officials that travel on the trips. The purpose of this exercise is to establish a pattern of travelling by Department officials, in order to ascertain proper usage of the Department's resources.

•	It would be important for the Department to demonstrate how it has been able to ensure that business units and bid committee members understand the new Supply Chain Management Policy and related procedures, especially where they relate to third parties. This is important in order to ensure effectiveness in the Departments collection activities, which have in some instances come into problems, because monies owed to the Department were not paid on time, thus requiring some debts to be written off. It would be interesting to know what follow up mechanisms have been crafted to ensure that bidding processes are expeditiously executed.

•	There have been issues in the manner in which the Department handles disciplinary matters. It is not clear as to how some cases were finalised and the Department often neglected to inform Parliament on some of the issues that it handles. A case in point is the impending disciplinary hearing for a diplomat who has been working at the Syria and Ramalla, Palestine missions against whom disciplinary measures were instituted for the use of racist language. The department is urged to give clarity as to progress with the case. Similarly, the Department should give details of other cases that it has had to address of misconduct by South Africa's diplomats and how those cases were concluded, if they were.

•	The Department should provide details of legal cases in which the Department is involved, as either a claimant or respondent in court.

4.2. Programme Two: Foreign Relations

The function of this Programme is to promote relations with foreign countries and facilitate the Department's participation in international organisations and institutions, in pursuit of South Africa's national values and foreign policy objectives. The following is an assessment of the obtaining outputs and service delivery trends.

4.2.1 The Consolidation of the African Agenda

This key deliverable involves among others, strengthening the African Union (AU) and its structures, as well as promoting regional integration and development by supporting the AU sanctioned process of harmonising and rationalising regional economic communities.

In terms of promoting regional integration through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), the annual report points to a number of activities and developments that took place towards the stated objective. It is noted that South Africa participated in the SADC Summit of August 2007 where focus was placed on strategies to accelerate regional infrastructure development. The terms of reference for establishing a free trade area (FTA) in the SADC region were defined at the 2007 Summit, and subsequently the FTA was launched at the 28th SADC Ordinary Summit of August 2008.

The implementation of the FTA will no doubt be a challenge, especially with the obtaining situation where Zimbabwe is still in a position of economic turmoil. South Africa has obviously been working hard to address the Zimbabwe situation by means of contributing towards a political settlement. However, beyond political matters, regional integration, which affects the implementation of the SADC FTA, which primarily be driven by economics. The DFA should indicate therefore how South Africa as a State and as the Chair of SADC plans to address regional integration, while the following challenges confront the region:

•	Trade asymmetry between countries in the region, coupled with volatile and weak currencies 

•	Overlapping membership of regional organisations. For example, Zimbabwe is member of SADC and COMESA, which has its own customs union, while Tanzania is a member of SADC and the EAC, which is fairly advanced in its regional integration initiatives. There are other SADC member states that are in a similar situation.

•	SADC member countries belong to different configurations of the economic partnership agreements, which have led to divisions as indicated below.

It is reported that negotiations on the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) took place in the reporting period and would continue beyond the period. However, the report does not state the outcomes of negotiations that took place in 2007 that culminated in the signing of interim EPAs by members of the SADC configuration group and other members of SACU. Also, the report also does not signal where emphasis would be placed with regard to fostering regional integration in light of the events that have taken place.

An added challenge to crafting a way forward to regional integration, with South Africa as Chair of SADC is achieving consensus on political issues affecting the region. Recently Botswana opted not to attend the 28th SADC Ordinary Summit, in an apparent protest over Zimbabwe's participation during a period in which the conflicting parties in that country had yet to reach an agreement on power sharing. Already, South Africa has been at loggerheads with Botswana over positions on the economic partnership agreements and other matters. Besides the Joint Cooperation Mechanisms between South Africa and Botswana that are stated in the annual report, the Department needs to clarify other measures that have been put into place to ensure that the two countries build a harmonious political relationship that will be a catalyst to regional integration.

The annual report mentions that efforts continued towards supporting the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). One issue that has remained high on the agenda is the integration of NEPAD into AU structures. It is noted that South Africa promoted NEPAD at international forums. Although it is mentioned in the report that the national implementation of NEPAD remained a priority, what the report does not indicate is what has been done to popularise NEPAD in South Africa, along with other Departments that are directly affected by the African socio-economic development Initiative.

The annual report notes efforts to support to Peace, Security, Stability, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Initiatives on the Continent. The 2007 ENE highlights the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Sudan, the Comoros and Cote d'ivoire as countries where South Africa has actively engaged. The annual report points to the DRC, Lesotho and Zimbabwe as countries where South Africa's attention was focused in accordance with the SADC political agenda. It is reported also that South Africa participated in peace missions in the DRC, Sudan and Burundi. Also, the draft White Paper on South Africa's Participation in international peace missions was completed and was prepared for tabling before Cabinet in the third quarter of 2008.

Issues to Consider:

•	The Annual Report notes that South Africa participated in the 7th and 8th Forums of the African Peer Review Mechanism in July 2007 and January 2008 respectively. It is public knowledge that South Africa registered its reservation over some of the 'key findings' in the review report which alluded to the country's poor performance in certain key areas. South Africa then submitted its response to the review at the African Union (AU) Summit in Ghana in July 2007, citing 'factual errors' in the review as the reason for its delayed Programme of Action (POA). The review report had highlighted growing corruption, rampant crime and xenophobia in South Africa. Apparently, the new mantra used in the 2008 State of the Nation Address, "business unusual", is a response to the determination made in the review that that South Africa cannot, with the serious challenges it is facing, continue to manage its POA as if it were "business as usual." It would be interesting to know of the developments surrounding the review, and of the outcomes of the 8th Forum and whether there has been a change of emphasis on issues that need to be addressed in the country's POA.

•	At the 28th Ordinary Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government that was held in South Africa in August 2008, South Africa was elected to be the Chair of the regional organisation. In the Strategic Plan of the DFA 2008-2011 it is noted that the country planned to work towards .sustainable regional economic integration and infrastructure development in SADC as well as [assess] the future of [SACU] within the broader integration process.. What the annual report does not show is how South Africa has dealt with the matter of regional integration, especially in light of divisions within SACU that have come to light since the signing of interim EPAs at the end of 2007. Notably these divisions may derail the implementation of the SADC FTA and movement towards a region-wide customs union.

•	The 2007 ENE noted that South Africa was underrepresented in the structures of the AU and SADC due to difficulties in attracting skilled people. It was noted as well that the Department of Public Service and Administration was commissioned to look into the matter, as well as to finalise the secondment policy. The annual report does not however make any mention of progress in this area. Instead it is only mentioned that continuous reviews of participation by South Africans in AU structures are conducted. It would be useful for the Department to explain as to what benchmarks are used to conduct such reviews, in the absence of the finalised secondment policy.

•	The DRC continues to be affected by violence in the north-east region of the country. Reports show that Rwandan forces have been involved in clashes with the DRC military forces in the Ituri region, north-east of the DRC. This makes it apparent that the conflict in the DRC has a sub-regional dimension. It would be useful to have an indication from the Department how it has sought to deal with the conflict in the DRC in a more comprehensive manner that takes account of the nuances that either directly or indirectly affect the long-term prospects for peace in that country.

4.2.2 South-South Co-operation

Strengthening of South-South Cooperation has been identified as an import vehicle in advancing development, particularly for the African Continent. The annual report places emphasis on active participation in multilateral forums, particularly the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Group of 77 + China, wherein advocacy efforts were driven towards the UN reform agenda.

Issues to consider:

•	In the previous annual report of 2006/07 its was noted that the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (lOR-ARC), in which South Africa participates, faced leadership challenges, and to mitigate the situation logistical and financial assistance would be required. The annual report of the financial year under review is silent on what has been done to deal with the stated challenges facing the lOR-ARC. Also, it would be useful to know how the Department envisages the country's future participation within this forum, especially in light of the leadership gap that the forum is facing. The Department should outline the benefits of further participation in this forum, over and above the obvious benefit of strengthening relations between countries of the South. In line with the AU decision to rationalise regional economic communities, it should be clear as to whether forums such as the lOR-ARC still serve the country's strategic objectives or perhaps there is new thinking around participation in such forums.

•	While the annual report states that .South Africa continued to playa prominent role in advancing the development agenda of the South,' it does not however say much about South Africa's participation in multilateral forums apart from the Group of 77 + China and UNCTAD. This is in stark contrast to the annual report of the financial year 2006/07 which carried more detail on South Africa's activities. The question here is: has the Department considered policy shifts in its engagements with countries of the South, and what are the strategic considerations in placing emphasis on participating in the Group of 77 + China forum?

•	South Africa is a key player in The New Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership (NAASP) and in 2009 the country will host a summit of the NAASP. It is however not stated in the annual report as to how the preparations for the Summit are going and what measures have been put in place to ensure that it becomes a success. Also, while cooperation may have been facilitated between South Africa, Vietnam and Guinea Conakry towards technological development for rice production, it is not clear whether this initiative has yielded sustainable benefits and whether there were challenges with implementation that were encountered. This information is critical especially in light of the need to ensure food security in Africa, as the information could assist in popularising the project in other African countries in order to boost agricultural production.

•	The Strategic Plan of the DFA 2008-2011 points to plans to engage in capacity building programmes and small development projects as part of the engagements with the India-Africa Forum. The annual report mention progress on this forum. Could this be a result of the forum being overtaken by the activities within the IBSA Forum and it begs the question posed above as to whether this signals a policy shift that sees the DFA streamlining its activities and placing emphasis on Forums where there are likely to be the most benefits?

4.2.3 North-South Dialogue

South Africa continued to engage effectively with the Commonwealth in pursuit of the African Agenda. South Africa also engaged the world's superpowers through the G8 forum, where significant commitments were made again, albeit without the certainty that the G8 will follow through with its promises. South Africa also engaged the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the forum in which the State sought to promote the interests of developing countries in the evolving global system of governance of intellectual property.

Issues to Consider:

. The annual report points to South Africa continuing to promote support for NEPAD by engaging

with the G8. At the Heiligendamm Summit the G8 made a commitment of US$60 billion, in support of health systems in Africa and for the treatment of infectious diseases. Reports show that the G8 has once more failed to deliver on its promises. The reports show that the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has responded better to the need to support NEPAD than the G8 has. A threat to the success of NEPAD has been shown by a quote attributed to the Former President of South Africa, His Excellency, Mr Thabo Mbeki when he gave a statement following the conclusion of the TICAD Conference in May 2008, when he stated that: "We need to encourage the other G8 members to follow this example, so that indeed we don't need any new NEPAD programmes. This statement shows that South Africa will not deviate from its policy of engaging with the G8 on NEPAD, but it also shows that NEPAD is vulnerable and requires the support of the G8 in order to survive. The question that needs to be posed here is to what extent does South Africa see the support of the G8 for NEPAD as critical to its survival and what options is the State envisaging that will ensure that this development blueprint for Africa does not turn out to be like its predecessors - including the Lagos Plan of Action - which have been modified and morphed into "new development plans, following a lack of substantial progress.

4.2.4 Participation in the Global System of Governance

Global governance is a key area of delivery for South Africa in the sense that it provides a forum where the country can engage in multi-lateral institutions, and interact with influential countries on matters of global political and socio-economic governance, which affect not only the country, but the African continent and the rest of the world.

One of the issues that have remained on the agenda that serves the purpose of strengthening multilateralism is the reform of the United Nations (UN) system. South Africa as part of the Four Nations Initiative (4NI), presented 32 recommendations to members of the UN General Assembly. The recommendations focused on enhancing transparency and accountability within the UN Secretariat, in order to make the body more responsive to the needs of entire UN membership.

The issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation remained on top of the agenda. South Africa attended meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its Board, where safeguards for processes in Iran and North Korea were prepared for implementation. The annual report notes that South Africa participated in technical and expert meetings that hold potential benefits for economic growth, not only for the country but also for Africa within the context of NEPAD.

During the period under review, as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, South Africa, among other things, focused on important matters, such as the relationship between the UN and regional organisations, particularly the AU. South Africa managed to influence the Security Council to make a request for the UN Secretary-General to prepare a report setting out the shared responsibilities for peacekeeping between the UN and regional organisations.

South Africa influenced a number of UN Security Council resolutions and presidential statements on the situations in Sudan, Somalia, Western Sahara, Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Cote d'ivoire, the Great Lakes region and West Africa.

Issued to consider:

•	In spite of criticism from many quarters, the annual reports states that South Africa, as a non- permanent member of the UN Security Council, took principled positions on the situations in the Middle East, Kosovo, Myanmar, Lebanon and Iran. The report does not however indicate what measures South Africa undertook in order to explain its positions on the various issues that have served to put South Africa in a negative light, albeit on the basis of misinformation. For instance, the controversial UN Security Council resolution 1803 of March 2008, proposes measures to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not participate in acts to distribute dangerous nuclear material for purposes of developing nuclear weapons. The resolution is widely believed to be calling for sanctions against Iran, which is not the case. However, South Africa has not effectively engaged in public relations exercises in order to explain some of the activities that occur in the Security Council, particularly as the country holds non-permanent membership for two years.

•	Also, on the issue of Palestine, the annual report notes that the South Africa has been actively participating in the NAM on the issue. However, progress was stalled when the Chair of the NAM failed to convene a meeting at which the NAM membership was to be informed of the work of the NAM Committee on Palestine. It is odd that South Africa has not pursued the matter further or at least given an indication of how the Committee would proceed with it. It its interactions with the NAM South Africa has served to promote other issues such as, among others, the establishment of the NAM human rights Chapter in Geneva and strengthening the UN political affairs department. It is important for the Department to explain why the issue of Palestine has seemingly been overtaken by other issues of the NAM and how come there has not been follow up on the matter.

•	While it is important to sponsor and support resolutions on critical conflict situations that are obtaining on the African Continent, it is also important to realise that no issue is too small and thus deserving of lesser attention. This statement is made in lieu of the fact Central Africa is affected by a number of conflicts, particularly in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), which have a regional dimension. The conflict situation, especially Chad, has links to the situation in Sudan. It is therefore essential for the UNSC to adopt positions on the situations in the aforementioned countries in pursuit of a lasting solution. It is important therefore for the DFA to consider taking a stronger stance on conflict situations in Africa that serve no purpose but to undermine the rights of the affected citizens of those countries, and also undermine the African Agenda.

4.2.5 Bilateral Relations

To advance South Africa's political and economic interests, including primarily the consolidation of the African Agenda, it is essential for the country to endeavour to strengthen its relations with countries all around the globe. In order to ensure structured cooperative relations mechanism were established and agreements were signed around various crucial aspects. Below is a review of the work of the DFA according to specific regions.

4.2.5.1 Africa

South Africa signed a Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) with Malawi which serves to encourage cooperation in the fields of agriculture, mining, tourism, energy, health, communication and transport.

South Africa engaged in the second session of the Joint Permanent Cooperation Commission (JPCC) with Botswana in which the finalisation of agreements in the fields of among others, Home Affairs, Trade and Industry, as well as Tourism and Environmental Affairs was dealt with.

South Africa entered into agreements with Lesotho covering the following: free movement of people; cooperation in matters relating to Correctional Services; as well as the prevention of wild fires. The then Deputy President engaged Lesotho's Prime Minister in a Business Forum where trade and investment opportunities were explored.

Swaziland and South Africa agreed on collaboration in the areas of financing for emerging farmers and the participation of women in commercial agriculture.

South Africa mediated in Zimbabwe as mandated by SADC. South Africa's mediation contributed to the passing of a constitutional amendment covering areas such as security and media legislation.

South Africa held the third session of the Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security with Zimbabwe, but it is not clear what was agreed upon.

South Africa also engaged with Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola, Namibia and the DRC in a variety of fields extending from economics to defence to migration.

South Africa continues to engage with Rwanda on capacity building. A programme of action was drafted in preparation for a JCC meeting. The annual report does not state however how South Africa has engaged Rwanda with a view to resolving the outstanding conflicts in the Great Lakes region. Without addressing these conflicts there is no guarantee that Rwanda will not revert back to a brutal internecine conflict. The DFA Strategic Plan indicates that South Africa is participating in the peace process in Burundi under the Regional Peace Initiative (RPI) led by Uganda and Tanzania. It is critical for South Africa to ensure that its efforts are maximised to secure peace and .stability in the Great Lakes region and therefore the country should endeavour to influence the RPI to consider the situation in the region more comprehensively.

Issues to Consider:

•	South Africa supported the efforts of an independent review commission headed by a South African judge, which would review the events that took place following the elections in Kenya, where violence erupted as a result of the contested results. While the efforts are geared towards fostering reconciliation amongst the people of Kenya, it is important also that those responsible for committing crimes against humanity during the ensuing violence to be held accountable for their crimes. Where the Kenyan authorities fail to undertake prosecution of those responsible, the option of turning to the International Criminal Court (ICC) should be explored.

•	4.2.5.2 Asia, Australasia and the Middle East

Some of the key bilateral relations within these regions are with countries such as the People's Republic of China (PRC), Japan, India, Australia and News Zealand. And, some of the key issues for engagement include South Africa's economic development in the context of ASGISA and JIPSA, science and technology and peace and security

Issues to Consider:

•	South Africa is a key trade partner to China in Africa with total trade amounting go one-fifth (20.8 percent) that China has with the Continent. It transpired a recently held seminar hosted by the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs on the review of that past 10 years of South Africa's relations with China that African countries failed to take full advantage of the Chinese Africa Development Fund. Also, China offers 400 duty-free imports, but this piece of information is not readily available to African exporters. It would be interesting to hear from the DFA as how it plans to address this matter along with the affected line Department, the Department of Trade and Industry. China has acknowledged the need to address the trade imbalance between itself and South Africa. The promotion of opportunities that exist in China should go some towards addressing the trade deficit.

•	There is growing acceptance that the only solution to the Israel-Palestine Conflict is a One-State Solution. The impending departure of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has cast doubts on any positive movement towards a political settlement along the lines of the Two-State Solution. While South Africa supports the latter solution, based on the fact that the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority are based on the same, it would be interesting to know if the Department envisages a change in policy towards the Middle-East conflict in order to explore other possible solutions. However, it would have been helpful for the Department to note in the annual report the highlights of the meeting between then President Thabo Mbeki, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israel Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, a meeting that took place on the margins of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly. A note on the highlights of the meeting would be indicative of progress in moving toward a solution.

4.2.5.3 North and Latin America and the Caribbean

South Africa has intensified its engagements with the Government of the United States of America (USA) on various aspects including building capacity to fight communicable diseases such as HIV and AIDS. While the annual report notes that South Africa has engaged with North American countries on the support for NEPAD, there is no clarity however, as to what extent and what specific NEPAD programmes have been supported by the countries concerned. Furthermore, South Africa has established ties with Caribbean countries and strengthened them further by opening a Diplomatic Mission in Trinidad and Tobago.

Issues to Consider:

•	The annual report also mentions military-to-military co-operation with the USA and highlights the fact that, bilateral interactions have continued affecting areas such as the African Contingency Operations Training Assistance Programme (ACOTA), which is aimed at strengthening South Africa's peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance capacities. It is notable that the reporting on ACOTA is similar to that of the previous financial year, thus it is not clear whether there were challenges or not. Also, it is not clear as to whether discussions were held with the USA with regard to the proposed launch of AFRICOM (Africa Command) and what relation this formation would have to ACOTA.

4.2.5.4 Europe

The annual report indicates that the focus of engagement with Europe during the year under review has concentrated on NEPAD, the reform of the UN system, Strategic Mineral Resources, ASGISA and JIPSA, the hosting of the 2010 World Cup, as well as issues relating to Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development.

Issues to Consider:

•	The annual report mentions many of the activities that the Department either facilitated or participation with regard to strengthening the country's relations with Europe. The annual report shows that relations with Europe have strengthened over the reporting period, shown by among other thing the continuation of the European Union (EU) to be the largest contributor of Official Development Assistance to Africa. The Africa-EU Summit held in Lisbon, Portugal in December 2007, resulted in the adoption of the Africa-EU Joint Strategy and Action Plan. What the annual report does not highlight however is whether measures are in place to implement the Strategy as it has emerged that Africa might not have the requisite mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability. Also, the EU has been found to be employing double standards in its negotiations on the economic partnership agreements, where it has promised development assistance, albeit without establishing clear mechanisms for funding development in its partner States. It would be useful therefore for the Department to highlight in the annual report the challenges the South Africa faces in implementing some of the development strategies that have been adopted, so that there is acknowledged that plans need to be devised in order to deal with the challenges.

•	In its relations with Europe, South Africa has primarily advanced its own interests and that of the Africa. However, consolidating the African Agenda has not been an overarching theme in relations with Europe. For instance, this theme does not come across in the reported interactions with Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and Belarus among others. Also, the theme of advancing the interest of the South has not come across in South Africa's bilateral interactions. Seemingly South Africa has chosen the path of advancing its objectives concerning Africa and the South with designated countries including France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Britain and Belgium, as indicated on page 56 of the annual report. The question is: does this indicate a direct policy choice to engage with certain designated countries on the consolidation of the African Agenda, and the development agenda of the South?

•	Also, Russia is one of the members of the Quartet on the Middle East, which is an entity formed in 2002 in order to mediate in the situation of the Israel-Palestine conflict. On the reporting on engagements with Russia, there is no sign that South Africa touched the issue of Israel and Palestine. Neither did South Africa express itself clearly on Russia's possible contribution to the African Agenda, nor issues affecting the South, as Russia is said to be interested in forums such as the NAM, where the matter of Israel and Palestine is addressed. In fact, in a separate report of the delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs that travelled to the region in order to hold discussion with the affected parties, it was noted that Russia supports Israel, which is in line with the Medvedev Doctrine that states that Russia will protect the interests of Russian citizens wherever they reside in the world. Israel has a substantial population of Russian Jews living there. Therefore, the actions of Russia in the Quartet cannot be' expected to address the situation of the Palestinians, whose situation can be described as highly critical due to among other things, the closures by means of checkpoints, curfews, restrictions on road usage, the barrier imposed by the Wall, the siege over the Gaza Strip and the persistent attacks on Palestinian citizens by Israeli soldiers. Russia as part of the Quartet has failed to address these issues. Therefore, the Department should provide an explanation of how South Africa should be expected to interact with Russia and other countries in Europe that hold similar positions, when it is patently obvious that the State does not share similar views on advancing the development agenda of the South.

•	While interactions with the European Union carry a heavy theme of consolidating the African Agenda, it has been found also that the EU support to Israel has undermined the development of Palestine. The EU has provided development assistance to the Palestinian National Authority, but has imposed stricter conditions on human rights issues than it has done with Israel. It would be useful for the Department to clarify how it has addressed this issue in its interactions with the EU.

4.3. Programme Three: Public Diplomacy and Protocol

Among the main tasks of the Programme is to provide an effective State Protocol service and Official Visit Management system, diplomatic accreditation, as well as to .communicate an understanding of South Africa's foreign policy goals, positions, achievements and programmes at home and abroad.

Issues to Consider:

•	The annual report notes that the Department engaged in a partnership with the Airports Company of South Africa to build .state of the art" State Protocol Lounges at the Cape Town International and the OR Tambo airports. What the report does not highlight and which is a matter for future consideration is forming partnerships with South Africa's international airline operators for purposes of improving the services offered by these operators. It should be acknowledged that airliners play an important role in projecting a positive image of South Africa and thus a coordinated approach towards boosting the image of the country should be adopted.

•	Similarly, the President of the Federation for International Football Associations (FIFA) Mr Sepp Blatter, in his recent visit to the country made comments in the media noting that South Africa had not performed as expected with regards to promoting the 2010 soccer World Cup around the Globe. The annual report states on page 66 that the Department undertook marketing and branding activities in various events including 2010 World Cup. It would therefore be useful for the Department to confirm that along with the 2010 soccer World Cup Local Organising Committee, that a strategy has been developed to promote the soccer World Cup, not only in South Africa, but in Africa and around the Globe. The Department should also consider establishing a Directorate responsible for managing issues around the soccer World Cup in order to establish clear line of responsibility.

•	The annual report also points to the Department undertaking media engagement to address regional and specific issues, including South Africa's participation in the UNSC as a nonpermanent member. It is noted above that some of the South Africa's positions adopted in the UNSC created controversies thus pointing a lack of effective communication of the country's policies and positions. It would be important for the Department to indicate how it plans to address the matter of media engagem-ent around South African Foreign Policy in order to generate an understanding among the citizens of the country and interested third parties.

During the previous financial years plans were made to develop an interactive website that would enable the DFA and the missions abroad to communicate online. The annual report of the previous financial year noted that there had been a new addition to the official Department's website, what is called a Web Portal Project. The purpose of the Project is to integrate the official Department's website, the Intranet, along with Foreign Missions' websites and other information sources. The outcome would be an interactive web portal. It was reported that the designs of the websites involved in the project and the Intranet would be finalised in the financial year under review (2007/08). It would be useful if the Department were to indicate the stage at which the project is at, as at the time of compiling the annual report in order to make it simper to track progress and to see if the contracting parties have delivered on their mandate. The report of the Accounting Officer that is annexed to the DFA annual report shows that by the end of the financial year under review, the project was 96 percent complete and was due to be closed during the first half of the following financial year (2008/09). The Department should provide an inventory of all the missions which were earmarked for the implementation of the project. A report on the performance of the system is key to determining its usefulness and its value for money.

5. Report of the Accounting Officer

5.1 Revenue and expenditure

During the year under review the Department received a total appropriation of R4.184 billion of voted and non-voted funds. The figures are provided on page 3 of the Accounting Officers Report. The given figure is a combination of the total budget appropriation plus the departmental revenue that results from reclaimed tax, revenue paid back from cost of living allowances and money collected from the previous financial year.

The Department recorded savings totalling R49.3 million as result of projects that were not finalised due to what is stated as unforeseen circumstances, and funds realised from transfer payments. It is not clear however, as to whether the savings from transfer payments were the result of currency fluctuations working in South Africa's favour or as a result of under spending. The report of the Accounting officer states that the savings are a result of voluntary contribution to programmes of the AU. Since all membership fees that were due were paid that one can only posit that the savings are the result of projections that did not materialise. A clearer statement from the Department would be useful in this regard. The Report of the Appropriation Statement notes that the savings constitute what is referred to as discretionary payments. The Appropriation Statement points that that the amount should have been budgeted under goods and services and not under international transfers. An explanation of the implication of this classification would be useful.

Virements totalling R13.8 million were made from the Programme 2, to Programmes 1 and 3 in order to defray over-expenditure in those programmes. However, the information given by the Accounting Officer on page 4 shows that Programme 1 and 3 made savings of R21.3 million and R74 000 respectively. On the table it is reflected that the Programmes made savings of 98.22 percent and 99.94 percent respectively. These figures bring up the question as to whether the reflected figures would be as they are if virements from Programme 2 not made. Also, the funds transferred within Programmes from economic classification to another as stated on page 4, indicates that certain line items have been subjected to under and over-expenditure. Further clarification from the Department is required as to why this is the case. Although it seems the DFA worked within the limits of the PFMA, some of the management of its appropriated funds should be questioned in order to generate an understanding as to what is the cause of funds moving from one economic classification to another.

5.2 Public Entities

The report of the Accounting Officer, annexed to the annual report notes that the Department runs a risk in administering its funds with regard to the current arrangement with Public Entities such as the African Renaissance and Co-operation Fund. It is reported on page 7 of the Accounting Officer's Report that due to the lengthy process to be followed to finalise projects of the Fund, the DFA therefore utilised its own funds. The Department would thereafter be able to claim back the disbursed funds following a letter of concurrence from the Minister of Finance. The main control mechanism for such disbursements is control accounts, which do not however guarantee that the Minister of Finance will give a letter of concurrence. It has happened with the Mali Trust Fund that the Minister of Finance did not give a letter of concurrence following an audit of the Mali Trust Fund, which was a fund established to assist the Government of the Republic of Mali with preparations for the 2002 soccer African Nations Cup Tournament that was held in that country from in the same year. The matter of the Mali Trust Fund is currently a subject of discussion between the DFA and the National Treasury. It is therefore critical that the recommendations of the Advisory Committee that was established to provide advice to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the disbursement of funds should get a hearing and be acted upon.

5.3 Talent Management

It is highlighted in the Accounting Officer's report that a survey on organisational culture and climate completed in the financial year under review indicated that there needs to be a focus of career management and the development of relevant processes. What the report does not indicate is what has been done to initiate the development of the said processes, including the time-lines by which specific tasks would be completed.

6. Report of the Auditor-General (AG)

6.1 Opinion of the Auditor General

The Department received an unqualified audit opinion for the financial year ending on 31 March 2008. There are other matters that the Auditor-General's report pointed to in relation to the financial position of the Department.

6.2 Other Matter

The Auditor General's report notes that the Department has implemented the SCOPA resolutions as well as the previous year's external audit recommendations. The annual financial statements were submitted for audit as per legislated deadlines and no difficulties were experienced with regard to obtaining information from the Department regarding matters relating to the audit.

7. Conclusion

The foregoing has been a reflection on the performance of the Department during the 2007/08 financial year. The report gives a detailed account of key performance areas and also provides a clear picture of the total appropriation of funds, albeit with questions on some of the virements, even though they occurred within the limits provided for under the PFMA.

Sources

•	Annual Report 2007/08, Department of Foreign Affairs.

•	Update of the DFA Strategic Plan, 2008-2011, Department of Foreign Affairs.

•	Treasury, Vote Three: Foreign Affairs, Estimates of National Expenditure 2007.

•	Mbeki, T. 2007, State of the Nation Address at the Joint Sitting of Parliament. Cape Town, 9 February.

•	Report of the Delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs on the trip to Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syria, 20-4 July 2008. (Embargoed)