Opposition leader urges Parliament delegation to visit Kyiv

Opposition Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen last week warned that South Africans are still to experience the fallout from the war between Russia and Ukraine, reports TimesLIVE. He said going forward, ordinary South Africans and the already battered economy would suffer greatly. Steenhuisen, who made the remarks after returning from a six-day fact finding mission to Ukraine, said he would pressure the ANC-led government to change its non-aligned position. Part of the visit was to tell Ukrainians that many South Africans were at loggerheads with government over the non–aligned position it had adopted in the UN General Assembly. He called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to ‘stop sitting on the fence’ and use his voice to condemn Russia. Steenhuisen has also called on Parliament to send a multiparty delegation to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leaders and assess the situation for themselves. Steenhuisen said he spoke to mayors, governors, MPs, members of the opposition, former Prime Ministers, academics, leaders of civil society and ordinary citizens who questioned why SA would not sympathise with their plight and seemingly take the side of Russia.