Africa-Press – South-Africa. DA MP Emma Powell has resigned as the party’s spokesperson on international relations.
Powell said in defending South Africa’s constitutional values on the international stage she has been “threatened, intimidated, harassed and illegally surveilled”.
“Driven by my commitment to the DA’s foundational principles, I accepted these risks as the unavoidable cost of standing up to and exposing Dirco [department of international relations & co-operation] and the ANC’s relationships with authoritarian regimes,” she said in a statement.
“Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have travelled the world on behalf of my party, first as shadow minister and later as national spokesperson, speaking out against some of the most repressive and brutal regimes in the world.
“Many of these regimes are more closely enmeshed with government leaders and the department of international relations & co-operation than the public realises,” she said.
Powell’s resignation comes after Sowetan revealed she had been accused of spreading disinformation that “contributed to the negative perceptions” of South Africa’s foreign policy.
Government sources said a report put Powell at the centre of organising an “unauthorised” trip to the US that included former deputy minister of trade and industry Andrew Whitfield.
Insiders said the report suggested that Powell allegedly used her travel to the US to spread an antigovernment agenda, despite her party being a key member of the government of national unity.
Powell recently issued a statement claiming President Cyril Ramaphosa’s envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas, had been denied entry to the US and that the country had refused to accept his credentials.
The Presidency, through spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, responded in a strongly worded statement, accusing the DA of “positioning itself as part of a right-wing nexus” that aimed to undermine the country.
On Monday, Powell said as a woman in politics, she understood viscerally the cost of standing up to bullies and the pressures that came with public life.
“In an environment that rewards expediency, truly principled leadership is rare and often costly. I am profoundly grateful to every South African, diplomat and colleague who has supported me along this journey. This world is full of remarkable, principled people who know that the cost of silence is far greater than the risk of confronting tyranny when the stakes are highest.
“Given the complexities of our fragile government of national unity, I have achieved what I can for and in this moment. We must each do what is possible to tip the world’s axis towards freedom, but good leaders know when it is time to step back and allow others to carry the baton forward,” Powell said.
She said she would continue to use her time in parliament to serve the country.
For More News And Analysis About South-Africa Follow Africa-Press
