White House visit: Ntshavheni saw no harm with inclusion of non-governmental participants

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that the government saw no harm in the inclusion of non-government participants in the presidential delegation that visited the White House in May.

This includes two of the country’s eminent golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.

Responding to parliamentary questions from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) member of Parliament (MP) Carl Niehaus, Ntshaveni said the intention had been to ensure the South African message covers a broad spectrum of views to dispel the misinformation being peddled in the United States (US) about an alleged white genocide.

But the EFF is unhappy about the remarks made by one of them about the 1987 battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola.

Ntshavheni said the government delegation of which she was a part, was specifically chosen based on expertise, influence and relevance to the discussions.

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She said their participation was deemed beneficial to advancing South Africa’s diplomatic and economic interests.

The other ministers present were International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola, Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen.

Ntshavheni went on to say that other members of the delegation, whom she does not name but presumably are the golfers, were specifically invited by the US administration.

She said the government did not consider this request to be detrimental to its approach.

“The situation in South Africa could be articulated by anyone based on facts and reality,” she said.

South african business tycoon Johann Rupert and Congress of South AfricanTrade Unions (COSATU) president Zingiswa Losi represented business and labour, respectively.

However, Ntshavheni pointed out that classified briefings were limited to those in government only.

She said she could not speak on behalf of non-government actors who were part of the delegation, nor the utterances they made during that occasion.

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