Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

'Silent diplomacy' puzzles envoys to SA Representatives of foreign missions say they find foreign affairs remote and unresponsive International Affairs Editor A FOREIGN diplomat who recently arrived in Pretoria says he was unnerved by the lack of response from the foreign affairs department to his calls on routine matters. He started asking questions on the diplomatic cocktail party circuit about whether SA's relations with his country had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. To his relief, fellow diplomats said they too had experienced similar problems and he was not to worry. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sue van der Merwe says she is not aware of this problem, but due to recent large-scale hiring, many officials have yet to undergo full training. Department spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa does not acknowledge there is a problem, but says diplomats should talk to them if they have problems.

He says it is difficult to respond to claims of lack of responsiveness without details of specific instances.

None of the diplomats interviewed wished to be quoted, for fear of incurring the wrath of the department, and jeopardising relationships. But many diplomats have complained without being prompted.

Some diplomats say SA risks losing goodwill due to a lack of in-depth interaction and slow responses from the foreign affairs department. And some warn that, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, if the department's responsiveness does not improve, South African diplomats in foreign capitals will receive similar treatment.

Many diplomats are excited about being posted to SA because of the country's role in Africa and what they view as interesting domestic changes. They also enjoy the people, the climate and the natural beauty. Some foreign diplomats, such as those from Nigeria, say they are perfectly happy with their dealings and response time from the foreign affairs department. But there are complaints from western and developing countries, large and small that their dealings with the department are fraught with delays and difficulties and an absence of knowledge about key areas.

Queries about trade links, official visits and SA's links with other countries often go unanswered, diplomats complain.

Diplomats are normally loathe to criticise their host governments, even in private. But foreign diplomats based in Pretoria are raising their voices about what they say is the sheer inefficiency of the foreign affairs department. They say that the trade and industry department and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are also slow and often unresponsive. Some say the core of the problem is that the department has become overly centralised and junior officials are fearful of responding to diplomats. They therefore often have to wait for a reply on a routine matter until an ambassador deals with the issue at senior level. However, they say some foreign affairs officials try to be helpful but very often know nothing about an issue and cannot respond. Members of the diplomatic corps say they have brought the problem to the attention of the department, but have seen little improvement in responsiveness.

Van der Merwe, appointed last year partly in order to improve relations with foreign embassies, says the problem has not been brought to her attention. She says she sees ambassadors on a daily basis and many say they are grateful for the good relations they have with SA.

We believe we have a good relationship with foreign embassies, she says.

If there is a serious problem, they can come and talk to us. Van der Merwe says she checked with the department's director-general, Ayanda Ntsaluba, and a number of deputy directors-general, and they were also not aware of a problem. However, she says a large intake of new officials since the lifting of a government hiring freeze 18 months ago could mean that some still need to acquire experience and knowledge. Van der Merwe says the department has beefed up its training programme to ensure the new intake can do their jobs properly. The department has also established a longer and more vigorous training curriculum.

She insists no foreign diplomat will be penalised for raising a complaint. We value interaction and would like to deal with any problems. Foreign military attaches who are meant to maintain links between their countries' armed forces and the SANDF are also upset about a lack of service and a low level of interaction.

One attache says his country would never neglect foreign military attaches the way SA does. But the defence force says it holds regular meetings with all foreign military attaches and their adviser corps. At these meetings all problems or complaints and other relevant issues are addressed, an SANDF statement says.

Junior diplomats say they tend to experience the most problems in getting through to officials in the foreign affairs department.

They say their foreign ministries often view their inability to have regular in-depth contacts with a foreign affairs department as career damaging. Many junior diplomats come to SA out of choice, but some leave disappointed because of the problems in establishing contacts. But diplomats say there has been improvement in one area attendance at celebrations of their national days.