There must be more than old Soviet loyalty driving the ANC’s allegiance to Putin and Iran, according to Helen Zille, the federal chair of the Democratic Alliance in South Africa. 

Zille suggests that if you “connect the dots,” it seems the ANC could be receiving some form of incentive from Russia or Iran to estrange its major trading partners. 

“We do as much trade with Russia as we do with Angola, and that’s not very substantial. So why would you want to boast about our ties with Russia when that is likely to alienate our major investors—Europe, Britain, and the US by far?” she said.  “There must be some other incentive to do that.”

Zille who was nominated in the Strategist category by National Security News in the List of the Top 50 Women in National Security, said she was surprised to have been included in the top five strategists in the world. 

“But I’ve spent my whole life in strategy,” she told NSN in an interview. “I have always enjoyed trying to work out where we’re going, how to strategically get there, and especially how to overcome the obstacles in getting there. That’s what my life in politics has been all about.”

She also revealed that her sons have nicknamed her Zabutai or “Zillatai” after a Mongol general known for his exceptional skills and strategy, who played a crucial role in the Mongol Empire’s expansion.

 Zille says past loyalties can only partly explain what is behind the ANC’s drive to support Russia, noting, “No country bases its international relations portfolio solely on loyalties from 30, 40, and 50 years back.She continued: “What is the incentive for the former Minister of International Relations to say she doesn’t consider Iran a tyrannical regime. It is extraordinary that they keep defending these countries and doing their bidding when there’s absolutely no trade and no investment advantage for South Africa.”

Asked whether she could prove that the ANC was receiving money from rogue states, Zille responded: “It’s very hard to prove. I mean, it’s very hard to prove because the ANC is really, really good at hiding this. When I am a PEP and want to open a bank account or do anything like that, there are so many investigations. But how did the Guptas manage to take trillions out of the country when they were working hand-in-glove with the ANC?”

She said South Africa’s laws are very tough on law-abiding citizens, but it appears that “crooks and money launderers can easily find their way around our system…which is why we are grey listed.”

Zille questioned how the ANC couldn’t pay their staff for upwards of 18 months and “suddenly all these woes were gone.” The ANC was able to run an election, and suddenly the International Relations Minister (Naledi Pandor) was meeting her Iranian counterparts, flattering, and praising them. Soon after, South Africa went to the International Court of Justice with its case on Israel, she pointed out.

South Africa will find it tougher under new Trump administration 

Zille says It will be much tougher for South Africa under a Trump Presidency. “He is not going to look kindly on the friends of the ANC, which the ANC pretends are friends of the South African Government. “

She said the ANC needs to be reminded that they are not in government alone, they are in a power-sharing arrangement and  the ANC’s friends are not necessarily South Africa’s friends.  

The greatest risk for South Africa, she said, is remaining part of the African Growth and Opportunity ACT (AGOA) as a big question mark still hangs over whether it will be reviewed for South Africa. 

Zille said: “One of the clauses in the act is that countries are only eligible for the preferential treatment in trade if they do not undermine America’s interests internationally. There is a very clear concern that Donald Trump and his administration may well conclude that the ANC’s international relations positions undermine American interests internationally. And then we’re in big trouble.”

Cracks in the GNU?

Zille stated the DA is not following the path of many other smaller parties in coalitions that have failed because their voters perceived they no longer stood for their commitments. She emphasised that differences would arise. Most important for the DA is to represent their 3.5 million voters. 

“We’re not going to try and curry favour with a party that rejects many of the issues that we stand for, she said in the interview. 

 “We’re going to stand up for our voters. That’s why they put us here. We’re in this Government of National Unity to share power, not to prop up the ANC and that has to be obviously very clear to everybody,” she stated. 

Zille reiterated that the DA is in the GNU to share power, “not to prop up the ANC.” She acknowledged that the ANC does not like it when the DA mentions they are in a power-sharing agreement. “But I’m afraid that is what it is.

Lesufi is running a vendetta against Afrikaans  

Commenting on the Clearing House Mechanism, established to work on conflicts in the GNU, Zilla said, “ I’ve sat on the clearinghouse mechanism once and that was over the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act. (BELA).That is currently the subject of a major standoff between us and the ANC. It is about rights that are being taken away, constitutional rights that are being taken away in the vendetta that Panyaza Lusufi is running against Afrikaans. That’s basically what it is,” she said. 

Zille noted that that discussions on the BELA legislation “were constructive and very direct and very helpful.”  The parties were not a point in that process where they have to put  solutions on the table, she said. “I’m involved in doing that and I will see this process through to the end.”