Cabinet on Thursday sought to distance itself from a statement by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation which slammed the US Embassy for the manner in which it handled its terror alert to Americans in SA.
Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe told reporters on Thursday that the official statements on the recent terror alert were those released by the Presidency as well as Cabinet’s subsequent statement.
READ MORE: South African Government snaps at America‚ Britain and Australia over terror alert
The US Embassy maintained that its terror alert to its citizens over the weekend to exercise caution due to terror threats in shopping areas and malls in South Africa was based on specific and credible information.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation released a scathing statement on Wednesday‚ in which it accused the US of attempting to manipulate SA’s counterterrorism work by using an alert which was based on “sketchy” information.
On the same day the Presidency released a statement which said that the security concerns of the US were being attended to through security cluster meetings and that the two countries enjoyed cordial bilateral relations.
Speaking to reporters in Pretoria Mr Radebe reiterated the Presidency statement‚ adding it was the “official” statement on the matter.
“The statement by the presidency and the statement today are the official statements of government. I will not be speaking on other statements. The ministers in the security cluster met yesterday and are likely to communicate the outcomes of that meeting themselves‚” he said.
Radebe said the US Embassy’s statement‚ also released on Wednesday‚ “reflected that the relations of SA and the US are cordial especially on matters of security”.
“The official government position was reiterated in the Presidency statement and is being expressed in our cabinet statement. We are continuing on those matters socially and economically and on matters of security‚” he said.
The US Embassy security alert prompted the British and Australian governments to revise their travel advisories to their citizens in SA to reflect the security concern.
Cabinet distances itself from Dirco response to US terror alert
Cabinet on Thursday sought to distance itself from a statement by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation which slammed the US Embassy for the manner in which it handled its terror alert to Americans in SA.
Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe told reporters on Thursday that the official statements on the recent terror alert were those released by the Presidency as well as Cabinet’s subsequent statement.
READ MORE: South African Government snaps at America‚ Britain and Australia over terror alert
The US Embassy maintained that its terror alert to its citizens over the weekend to exercise caution due to terror threats in shopping areas and malls in South Africa was based on specific and credible information.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation released a scathing statement on Wednesday‚ in which it accused the US of attempting to manipulate SA’s counterterrorism work by using an alert which was based on “sketchy” information.
On the same day the Presidency released a statement which said that the security concerns of the US were being attended to through security cluster meetings and that the two countries enjoyed cordial bilateral relations.
Speaking to reporters in Pretoria Mr Radebe reiterated the Presidency statement‚ adding it was the “official” statement on the matter.
“The statement by the presidency and the statement today are the official statements of government. I will not be speaking on other statements. The ministers in the security cluster met yesterday and are likely to communicate the outcomes of that meeting themselves‚” he said.
Radebe said the US Embassy’s statement‚ also released on Wednesday‚ “reflected that the relations of SA and the US are cordial especially on matters of security”.
“The official government position was reiterated in the Presidency statement and is being expressed in our cabinet statement. We are continuing on those matters socially and economically and on matters of security‚” he said.
The US Embassy security alert prompted the British and Australian governments to revise their travel advisories to their citizens in SA to reflect the security concern.
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