JOHANNESBURG - South Africa has reached a point where it can no longer continue overexplaining itself to the United States, says the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation.
Instead, the focus should be on developing domestic policy to address South Africans and organisations that deliberately portray the country in a negative light.
Committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo says the remarks by US Ambassador to South Africa L. Brent Bozell do not come out of nowhere.
READ: Dirco demarches Bozell over Trump administration demands
“That initiated attitude towards South Africa is done by South Africans,” Mahumapelo says.
“They are known individuals and organisations,” he adds.
Mahumapelo is calling on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to develop new measures to deal with people who travel outside the country to denounce or make what he describes as false claims about South Africa.
Dirco demarched the US ambassador following a public statement in which he pressed Pretoria to address five demands from the Trump administration.
Among the issues raised by Washington are the protection of private property rights, the reversal of the Expropriation Act and changes to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policies.
The US administration is also demanding that the South African government condemn the “Kill the Boer” chant and take steps to improve rural safety and security for farmers.
The US government has indicated that it is not seeking what it describes as diplomatic manoeuvring, procedural delays or “dialogue for dialogue’s sake”.
Washington says the matter now rests with the South African government to respond to its demands.
Mahumapelo says South Africa continues to have strong economic ties with the US, pointing to the number of American companies operating in the country and an increase in US tourist arrivals.
“Our concern is that we do not have a domestic policy in place to deal with those that lie about their own country,” Mahumapelo says.
“We need to look at the law that there be consequences to denouncing your own country,” he adds.