Minister Naledi Pandor has described the “prepper” warning issued by the US Embassy in South Africa to stock up on food and water as the country continues to rollout load shedding as “odd”.
Pandor’s response comes after the US government warned its citizens in South Africa to ensure that they have the necessary medicine, 72 hours’ worth of supplies at home by stocking non-perishable food, three litres of water per person per day and first aid supplies.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Uganda State Visit at the Union Buildings in Tshwane, this is what the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation had to say: “I found it rather surprising and odd. I don’t recall such alerts being issued when California had similar blackouts and outages to South Africa.
“I find it a rather odd warning. But there has been rather many of these warnings and none of which is warned about has come to fruition,” the Minister underscored.
Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Pandor reiterated that South Africa is not neutral but favours peace and diplomacy.
“We’re against war because it brings harm. The position that we have adopted is one that says, ‘let us find the road to peace’. We believe that diplomacy will indeed eventually win the days tragic and that lives will have to be lost before we realise we should get around the table and negotiate a settlement.”
As for Africa, the Minister said it will continuously play a role in the African Union (AU) and stress the need for diplomacy.
The Minister told media that Cyril Ramaphosa and his Uganda counterpart, President Yoweri Museveni, will discuss the ongoing war as both leaders have an interest in supporting the two parties coming together to find a resolution.
