DA leader John Steenhuisen claims the war in Ukraine will land on South African shores this winter.
Steenhuisen, who recently returned from his six-day “fact-finding” trip to the country, has pledged South Africa’s support for Ukraine and vowed that he would not stop putting pressure on the government to change its stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Steenhuisen said his reasons for his overseas visit were two-fold.
First, he wanted to see for himself what was happening in Ukraine and hear accounts first-hand from the people living there.
And secondly, he wanted to represent South Africa to the people of Ukraine, “because no one else is doing this”.
He called on the South African government to condemn the Russian invasion and to call for the opening of the port of Odessa and other Ukrainian ports where he said over 30 million tons of exports were waiting.
“I know that we are heading for a very bleak time as the effect of this war hits our economy and our imports.
“This impact is right around the corner, and it will coincide with the winter months, the ongoing electricity cuts, our runaway unemployment and our spiralling inflation.
“This will truly be the winter of our discontent, and when it arrives, Ukraine will be on everyone’s lips. I want to be able to speak on the issue from a position of authority,” he said.
body copy_bold: Steenhuisen said he got upset when hearing people say, “This is not our war, we needn’t involve ourselves or speak out”.
He said he made it known to the Ukrainians, including members of parliament, that the ANC did not speak for South Africa on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“I told them all the same thing: Our ANC government speaks only for its own narrow financial interests. It does not represent the citizens of South Africa in its immoral support for Russia.”
dailyvoice@inl.co.za