SOUTH AFRICA: Saturday 27 May 2017 - 8:05am
File: SACP leader and Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande. Photo: Twitter.com/@SACP1921
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Communist Party is accusing government of double standards, after it asked Zambian authorities to explain a decision to deny entry to Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane.
Maimane wanted to attend the court appearance of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, who is charged with treason.
The Zambian High Commissioner to South Africa said Maimane's presence would have undermined the sanctity, integrity and independence of the Zambian judiciary.
However, the SACP says government failed to act when Israel denied an entry visa to Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande during a planned trip to Palestine in 2015.
The SACP says Nzimande was invited by his Palestinian counterpart.
The planned trip followed a state visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to South Africa in 2014.
The party says it is puzzled that government failed to summon the Israeli Ambassador to explain that decision.
The SACP says the inconsistent handling of the two situations is an invitation to serious scrutiny.
"The inconsistent manner in which the government attended to the two situations, one affecting its own Cabinet Minister and officials on duty, the other affecting an opposition leader in a political mission, is an invitation to serious scrutiny," the party said in a statement.
"The SACP will undertake the work and calls on progressive South Africans to do likewise."
http://www.enca.com/south-africa/sacp-accuses-government-of-double-standards-in-maimane-debacle