Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, MP for Damongo and Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee
The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has called for direct engagement between the Presidents of Ghana and South Africa to help ease growing diplomatic tensions arising from recent xenophobic attacks on Ghanaians and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
According to the Damongo MP, while Ghana and South Africa have traditionally enjoyed strong bilateral relations, recent exchanges between officials of the two countries suggest that diplomatic engagement at the ministerial level may no longer be sufficient to resolve the impasse.
“Quite clearly, there is some breakdown of trust between our respective governments and the bilateral relationship between Ghana and South Africa is obviously at its lowest,” Mr Jinapor said.
He argued that the matter should now be elevated to the highest political level, with President John Dramani Mahama and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa taking the lead in efforts to restore confidence and strengthen relations between the two countries.
Mr Jinapor said recent public exchanges between Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and his South African counterpart point to what he described as a breakdown in cordial and effective communication between the two foreign ministries.
“If you follow the exchanges between our Foreign Minister and the Foreign Minister of South Africa, it is quite clear that there is some breakdown of cordiality and functionality,” he said.
The former Lands and Natural Resources Minister suggested that direct presidential engagement could provide the political leadership needed to de-escalate tensions and preserve the longstanding friendship between the two countries.
He stressed that Ghana and South Africa have a shared history of cooperation and should work together through diplomatic channels to address concerns arising from attacks on foreign nationals while protecting the broader bilateral relationship.
His comments come amid heightened diplomatic exchanges between Accra and Pretoria over the reported xenophobic attacks targeting Ghanaians and other African nationals in South Africa, with both governments facing growing calls to find a lasting solution through dialogue and cooperation.
The latest spat between Ghana and South Africa heightened on Thursday when the two countries disputed the circumstances surrounding the shooting to death of a Ghana in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry links the killing to the ongoing xenophobic attacks on foreigners, but the South African authorities claim it was robbery-related.
In a statement issued on Thursday, July 2, South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, who also chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, said Ghana’s account of the incident was “factually incorrect” and not supported by police investigations.
The South African officials insist the victim was attacked at his workplace on June 29 in what police suspect was a criminal incident unrelated to any demonstrations. According to the Western Cape Police, the deceased was shot at a barbershop in Nyanga after unknown assailants allegedly stormed the premises, demanded money and shot him before fleeing.
Only recently, South Africa chose to lambast Ghana for offering to fly its nationals out of South Africa when local vigilantes threatened and visited harm on foreigners and their businesses, including Ghanaians.
While the violence continues, South African authorities claim Ghana overreacted in choosing to fly its nationals. Other countries, however, followed Ghana’s example.
A deadline issued by the rampaging vigilantes for the immediate removal of undocumented migrants from the country, claiming that foreigners are exacerbating unemployment, poverty, and crime, has since expired.
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