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Diebaas_reddit t1_j5o3lz5 wrote

There is nothing South Africa can offer Russia other than empty words.

We don't have electricity, hardly any potable water and the majority of the population can't do basic maths.

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skipthedamned OP t1_j5o3rzr wrote

They can offer politicians with hungry pockets and harbours to freight goods to avoid sanctions

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Mirathecat22 t1_j5ok2kq wrote

They have a lot of prisoners, Wagner might be on a recruitment drive

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FredTheLynx t1_j5otsxy wrote

I mean when your other Allies are Iran and North Korea... South Africa seems maybe an upgrade?

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DFWPunk t1_j5qf550 wrote

Those 2 at least have resources and weapons to offer.

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Twilight1234567 t1_j5pio6x wrote

Can I ask you, if it’s not too personal, how do you cope? I live in America and have never faced the struggles many face and for that I am so sorry. How do you handle day to day especially seeing how things are in other places? Or is it just normal for you?

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[deleted] t1_j5t3t8g wrote

[deleted]

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Twilight1234567 t1_j5tpn8k wrote

Wow!! That’s so interesting! Can I ask then since you have lived in the US, do you feel like Africa is portrayed in a certain way here?? I feel like it’s socially accepted here to think of Africa and think of the no water, scarce food etc

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Wazalootu t1_j5pzjz5 wrote

He'll want access to your criminals. If they can be persuaded to swap jail for the promise of money for shooting people, that is enough for Lavrov.

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kraenk12 t1_j5o60te wrote

Ok, looks like I’m quitting my planned visit. Shame.

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TremendousVarmint t1_j5o6sit wrote

Botswana and Namibia are cool, though.

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vsmack t1_j5pa1g1 wrote

They also have not sanctioned russia and aren't going to, if that's your travel criteria

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kraenk12 t1_j5ob7ea wrote

I sense some sarcasm lol.

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Unknown14erUnknown t1_j5obiq3 wrote

No, they're actually cool.

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kraenk12 t1_j5obm8r wrote

Good to know, thx. As a German I should probably pick Namibia ;)

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skipthedamned OP t1_j5og7f9 wrote

There is a place that has a bar inside the trunk of a tree.

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mycall t1_j5pspn3 wrote

Drinking inside trees is a German thing to do?

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pseudoEscape t1_j5pzt9a wrote

Our government is literally the worst. They seem like all they’re capable of is damaging SA. Our elections are around the corner and I hope we can dislodge them.

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kraenk12 t1_j5q33s3 wrote

I know a few really great people from SA and it pains me to hear that. I feel bad cause I know many of you don’t deserve tourists staying away for those reasons…I feel that by thinking about staying away I’d punish the wrong people…It’s a double-edged sword.
I hope it’ll get better and that the alternative is a better option.

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pseudoEscape t1_j5sjy6o wrote

Yip it’s a very frustrating situation and thanks for the balanced view.

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hdashtal t1_j5o5l1j wrote

What does Russia give them in return? This makes no sense. Has someone been bribed?

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gerrymandering_jack t1_j5o75fw wrote

South Africa is having an energy/electricity crisis and has a plan to import cheap LNG from Russia.

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[deleted] t1_j5oggc1 wrote

[deleted]

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Fokke_Hassel_Art t1_j5oiieb wrote

Germany did it in 7 months. So I guess a terminal is set up quick

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Mirathecat22 t1_j5ok8pp wrote

Germany is a 1st world country that set out to do it and made sure it got done.

South Africa is a 3rd world shithole with an incredible amount of corruption

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XavierRenegadeAngel_ t1_j5ozfu5 wrote

While I wouldn't call it a shithole, I do agree with the incredible amount of corruption.

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Nucl3arDude t1_j5sw1t6 wrote

I lived there. It's a shithole.

Don't let the nice resorts and game farms fool you. There's the Corpo class who gets completely privatised services and then there's everyone else, who are lucky if they get electricity when they'd actually be home.

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gerrymandering_jack t1_j5omvkv wrote

Government is planning to launch a procurement process for 3000MW of gas-fired energy generation, with the most likely options being the deployment of power ships or a floating LNG terminal.

The new gas generation facilities will be located in Richards Bay and/or Mossel Bay.

https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/the-power-ship-has-sailed-govt-launches-another-procurement-process-for-gas-fired-generation-20230120

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MF_lover t1_j5olggq wrote

Forgot one : water

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mycall t1_j5psvqd wrote

Cheap water from Russia to South Africa?

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MF_lover t1_j5qserw wrote

No no, I meant one of the crisis. Water is one, could be solved by a number of things, none of which are cheap unfortunately.

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Potential-Brain7735 t1_j5q8vjx wrote

How is SA going to get “cheap” LNG from Russia, when the only way to get LNG from Russia to SA is by boat….and Russia doesn’t control a single shipping lane in the world, so they have to ask permission from a wide variety of nations just to be able to transport anything anywhere.

Wouldn’t it be cheaper to get LNG from other oil producing nations?

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throwawayinfinty1 t1_j5o95xm wrote

Russia supported South Africa's current ruling political party during segregation(apartied) pre 1994. They "gave" long ago, it's now just collection.

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Clarkhunt t1_j5qmbia wrote

I could say with a high level of confidence almost definitely. They barely need a reason to take a bribe lately.

Then there is an electricity crisis here and there where some rumblings of Rosatom building nuclear power stations here. Might be our corrupt politicians see opportunity there.

There is the historical view that communist Russia was an ally to the ANC in the apartheid years and many ANC politicians hold romantic views of communism.

There was also a story recently of a Russian ship offloading or loading something in the naval town of Simmons town not to long ago.

But the biggest problem is the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Naledi Pandor and some in the military are backing Russia while the presidency and the fiscal policy in general is to court the west for loans and foreign investment.

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_invalidusername t1_j5oa3ek wrote

Embarrassing for South Africa

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skipthedamned OP t1_j5oa7x1 wrote

Seems they are actually proud of it

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noaccessories t1_j5obxf1 wrote

As a South African I am most certainly NOT proud of this shit.

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skipthedamned OP t1_j5ocrug wrote

The minister of foreign affairs seems well chuffed with herself according to many articles

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Active-Geologist-788 t1_j5oici5 wrote

I understand.

But r/worldnews is veeeery pro-ukraine

Any idea what other people from SA think?

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afrothunder2104 t1_j5oq7xg wrote

Not pro Ukraine, anti Russian. Don’t mix those two. Before the war, people still hated Russia for the horrible things they were doing. The Ukrainian invasion just brought those horrible things to the public’s attention.

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Ceasehar t1_j5pgbn8 wrote

https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/anc-polling-under-50-for-2024--brenthurst-foundati

https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/news/brenthurst-survey-shows-vast-majority-of-south-africans-condemn-russia/

>A survey conducted on behalf of The Brenthurst Foundation has found
that 74.3% of South Africans believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
is “an act of aggression that must be condemned” while only 12.7%
believe it is “an acceptable use of force”.

South Africans are very much on the side of Ukraine.

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Pyjama_Llama_Karma t1_j5pv8bk wrote

So their government is acting in reverse of what the population wants?

Sounds like time for some internal political instability. Maybe even a coup.

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Ceasehar t1_j5q84rx wrote

It's complicated. If you go through all the different polls on the first link, you'll also see figures surrounding SA citizens' thoughts on the efficiency of ANC governance, with only 30% of the country considering the ANC 'good' at their administrative function. Despite this, they still have close to 50% support according to this poll and other polls, generally.

So, where does this support stem from? I wish I knew. I think opposition parties wished they understood, because how do you win over voters that seem supportive of a party they clearly don't think are very suited for the job? It's completely irrational.

Most likely, it's old loyalties that die hard. The ANC still have some PR from the apartheid era. If you, again, read through the first link, you'll also see a question regarding South Africa's present issues and who the primary culprit is. Once again, most South Africans blame the ANC for our current issues, not the legacy of apartheid.

So, honestly, our voters don't seem to understand what they want. A good section of us are confident that the ANC will lose their majority come 2024, but I honestly cannot tell you what the primary motivation for voters will be. Load shedding, maybe?

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WorldAccordingToCarp t1_j5qw0jm wrote

It's almost never 'time for a coup'. A small group of people seizing sudden control of a democratic country rarely ends well, regardless of those people's intentions.

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Purple-Quail3319 t1_j5pbsuz wrote

Acting like being anti Russian is pro Ukraine forgets their invasion of Georgia, attacks on their own people in their subjugation of Chechnya, their attacks on civilian aircrafts, their widespread attacks on other civilian infrastructure, their wanton assassinations of any internal critics, their propensity to rape and pillage in any conflict they've been involved in, their repression of LGBT, their espousal of domestic abuse, their constant threats of nuclear attack...

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noaccessories t1_j5vn42g wrote

South Africa is, if you exclude the top Wealthy percentage is a very poor country. The vast majority are to busy just trying to get by to care. also, there would be a significant percentage of people that would not even be able to point to where South Africa is on a world map. Asking them to point out Ukraine or Russia? GTFO!

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XavierRenegadeAngel_ t1_j5ozm8b wrote

The ruling party does what it does for itself, they couldnt give a shit about the populace.

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F94_Spartan t1_j5q0cs9 wrote

You are confusing our politicians with our countrymen. No South African is looking to support anyone. We are a very mind our own business country and we have enough problem putting food on our tables and keep our lights on. Our politicians are special, they are in power because of loyalty. The people believe vote ANC until the ANC fixes itself. They also never have an formal education or understanding of how the real world works. There is a GREAT disconnect between the ANC and the people... They even protest themself sometime...

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tranquildude t1_j5oydfd wrote

Talk about getting on board of a sinking ship. Really a stupid move South Africa.

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MapleTebras t1_j5o6e80 wrote

When you get a tiny bit of money from Russia, and you respond with. "How High?"

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unrulyhoneycomb t1_j5ouafz wrote

To kick out one band of imperialist racists in order to welcome the boss level imperialist racists. That’s some South Africa-level of irony. Oh how the turntables…

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Leandrys t1_j5pnbal wrote

Partnership with russia is going so well for Mali, i mean, what could possibly go wrong ?

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Joey_Elephant t1_j5oy8bb wrote

South Africa is a country in fairly rapid decline. It's not going to stop anytime soon either.

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A_Tokyo_Ghoul t1_j5p1lql wrote

As a South African, trust me when I say almost every person in South Africa who can breath and think at the same time is horrified by this. And Naledi Pendor is know to be an absolute doos.

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Pyjama_Llama_Karma t1_j5pu9o2 wrote

I'm just glad that the corrupt government has made their idiocy public.

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Jorgen_Pakieto t1_j5qgbbu wrote

Lavrov is slowly tryna assemble the avengers rn

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MartinVeillette t1_j5qiqz3 wrote

Lavrov is probably the one guy I would like to see suffer and have an horrible death in the whole world

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Kewenfu t1_j5qyes2 wrote

I have only one word for South Africa's current leadership: GROTESQUE!

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autotldr t1_j5o4awj wrote

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 75%. (I'm a bot)

> Pretoria - International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor has bid farewell to her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov after closed-door talks between officials of the two nations.

> "In her closing remarks after hosting Lavrov in Pretoria on Tuesday, Pandor said:"The discussions of today were frank and open, and I am pleased about the progress evident on a variety of issues between our two countries.

> In 2022, South Africa and Russia celebrated 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the Department of International Relations and Co-operation said the historical links between the two countries remained strong.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: between^#1 two^#2 Relations^#3 Pandor^#4 Lavrov^#5

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sigmatrophic t1_j5oigp2 wrote

Why does this feel like Middle School lunch time drama

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Techygal9 t1_j5p1bym wrote

Makes sense for SA, since Russia needs to sell its oil, after being cutoff in Europe they are looking into the South African market. Since SA has power cuts they really need a power source to stabilize their economy. If they utilize their ports and figure out how to ship Russian oil to other countries in Africa it could be highly beneficial for the SA economy.

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sicariobrothers t1_j5q9xya wrote

And up until now I had such high regard for SA government

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NutriaBoet t1_j5qh0i5 wrote

>And up until now I had such high regard for SA government

Uhm... you should brush up on your knowledge of how corrupt the ANC has become. Corruption is a synonym of ANC nowadays.

Your high regard for them should have been long gone a decade ago.

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