South Africa clarifies – We didn’t request for a state visit to Ghana
The South African government says it has not made any request to the Ghana government for a state visit for President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Government sources have told Ghana Business News that the Ghana government had rejected a request by the South African government for a state visit by President Ramaphosa scheduled for August 2 to 4, 2026 citing xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa which led to the killing of Ghanaian national, 40-year-old Bashiru Isak in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township.
But the spokesperson for President Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya answering questions on the WhatsApp messaging app has told Ghana Business News that South Africa did not request for a state visit to Ghana. Instead, he said South Africa was pursuing ongoing conversations about the Bi-National Commission (BNC).
“Bilateral Cooperation between South Africa and Ghana is coordinated through a Bi-National Commission which was established in 2019. The Second Session of the BNC between the two countries was held in South Africa March 2024 and Ghana is scheduled to host the Third Session of the Commission. South Africa remains committed to its strategic cooperation with Ghana which covers political, economic, defence and security and social sectors,” Magwenya said.
Magwenya also pointed out that for South Africa, deepening cooperation between his country and Ghana is not only in the national interest of the two sister nations, but also crucial to advancing the African Agenda.
He added that the two countries will continue to engage through diplomatic channels to identify a mutually convenient date for the next session of the Commission.
“In summary, the request was to confirm the seating of the BNC which was to be co-chaired by both Presidents and had already been agreed after the last BNC meeting. There was no request for a state visit,” he said.
Magwenya was clear that South Africa was only seeking confirmation of the seating of the BNC, which had already been agreed to at the last meeting of the BNC in 2024.
“This is the normal correspondence that precedes the BNC meetings as bilateral relationship management structures that meet regularly. The dates had also been discussed some months ago amongst officials. The latest correspondence was more of a formality than a new request. And it was within a context of an already established process between the two countries. There was no request for a state visit which is very different from a working visit over a BNC,” he said.
Magwenya also decried what he described as “anti-South African” rhetorics coming from Ghanaian authorities.
“We don’t believe there should be any tension whatsoever with Ghana. Or if there’s any basis for hostility between the two countries, there are no facts to support that Ghanaian nationals have been disproportionately affected by the recent wave of anti-illegal migration protests,” he stated.
“We are perturbed by their High Commissioner’s unverified public statements as much as we have noted the escalation of anti-South African rhetoric coming from their Foreign Minister. Notwithstanding all of that, we remain committed to maintaining warm diplomatic and mutually beneficial trade relations with Ghana and continuing to working with the government and the people of Ghana in advancing the development of our continent,” Magwenya said.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi