Team SA didn’t have a solid story in Davos: Makhubela

The South African delegation at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Former diplomat Dr Kingsley Makhubela says the South African delegation in Davos, Switzerland, did not have a solid story to put forward.

The 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) was attended by more than 3000 leaders from around 130 countries.

The meeting came during one of the most complex geopolitical periods in history and at a time when many appeared to agree that multi-lateralism as it has been known for decades, is changing and weakening dramatically.

Makhubela says WEF has moved away from issues that brought world leaders together to please US President Donald Trump.

He says Team SA is confused about its foreign alignment stance.

Makubela says, “We are not part of the alliance, the BRICS alliance, in terms of the content of what the BRICS is all about, because we don’t know where we stand between these emerging power alliances, and that’s where the warning comes from that South Africa must be very careful not to align itself even within the liberal democracies.”

“South Africa seems to align itself in the fragmentation of the liberal democrats with Europeans against the Americans, and I think that’s a very dangerous game that South Africa is playing, not defining its strategic objective,” he adds.