Ghana has postponed high-level bilateral meetings with South Africa that had been scheduled for next month, pointing to a recent surge in anti-migrant violence as the reason for the delay, according to Ghana’s government spokesperson.
Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu made the announcement on local radio station Joy FM, explaining that the ongoing violence would likely have cast a shadow over the August meetings. Those sessions were set to be hosted by Ghana and co-chaired by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama.
Kwakye Ofosu said it would be more appropriate for the two sides to come together “when matters settle.”
South Africa’s presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Reuters that the meetings of the South Africa-Ghana Bi-National Commission had been under discussion for months. He said Johannesburg only learned of Ghana’s intention to delay the meetings when it attempted to confirm the arrangements.
South Africa has experienced repeated waves of anti-migrant protests over the past several months. While most demonstrations have remained peaceful, some have turned violent, resulting in attacks on foreign nationals and the looting of businesses owned by immigrants.
Ghana had previously repatriated hundreds of its citizens ahead of a June 30 “deadline” issued by a South African anti-migrant movement demanding that undocumented foreigners leave the country.
Kwakye Ofosu emphasized that Ghana values its relationship with South Africa, but said it would be more fitting for Ramaphosa to make a visit “when the issue of xenophobic attacks no longer hangs over such discussions.”
Magwenya said both nations would “continue to engage through diplomatic channels to identify a mutually convenient date for the next session of the commission.”
Ghana’s foreign ministry stated last week that a Ghanaian citizen was shot and killed in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township during anti-immigrant demonstrations on June 30.
South African police, however, said they had no record of any such incident occurring on that date. Authorities did confirm that a Ghanaian national was killed one day earlier in a separate Cape Town settlement, but said that incident was believed to be connected to extortion rather than anti-migrant violence.
