SA Parliament wants DIRCO to get tough on Zimbabwe over unpaid debt

South Africa’s Parliament has urged the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) to put mechanisms in place against countries that refuse to repay debts owed to South Africa.

It said maintaining diplomatic relations should not come at the expense of recovering the money.

The call followed a meeting between DIRCO and Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, Parliament said DIRCO lacked the capacity to recover money owed to South Africa by other governments.

DIRCO declined to tell the committee how much each country owes, citing sensitivity and confidentiality. The committee said it was concerned by this.

Because DIRCO receives R7.2 billion in public funds, the committee argued, it should be told which countries owe money and how much has been recovered.

Committee chairperson Mmusi Maimane said some of the debts were old and had built up over time.

He argued that this showed that diplomatic channels had not worked, even though several DIRCO ministers had dealt with the matter in the past.

“We cannot be naive; we are operating in a volatile and often unpredictable geopolitical climate. Tensions are escalating in various regions, and global realignment is taking place,” Maimane said.

The committee also voiced frustration over the long-running issue of money owed to South African Airways (SAA). Zimbabwe owes SAA about R1 billion in ticket-sales revenue from flights to and from the country.

Maimane said that because the matter had dragged on, the committee had called in DIRCO to find out where the problem lay and whether it could be resolved through diplomatic channels.

“South African Airways is not operating profitably and is incapable of meeting some of its obligations, yet it is owed much-needed revenue by a neighbouring country. We should be discussing the fact that DIRCO facilitated commitments for this money to be repaid. Sadly, this has not happened,” he said.

The committee urged DIRCO to put mechanisms in place for dealing with countries that refuse to pay.

“We will continue to pursue this matter, with DIRCO assisting the Department of Transport in recovering unpaid revenue for SAA. SAA cannot be denied funds owed to it for the sake of diplomatic relations while it is in financial difficulty,” Maimane said.