While the Reserve Bank still tries to pull the wool over the public eyes when it comes to economic growth, Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor is more realistic and starts tightening the expenditure belt when it comes to foreign representations. “Low levels of economic growth and declining investment in South Africa and Africa are a severe constraint on our international ambitions,” she said. As per her recent budget for DIRCO (Department for International Relations and Cooperation) South Africa can no longer afford the current number of missions worldwide and has decided to close the following 10 Diplomatic Missions:
| * Minsk, Belarus * Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago * The Holy See, The Vatican * Helsinki, Finland * Milan, Italy (consulate) * Muscat, Oman * Suva, Fiji * Bucharest, Romania * Lima, Peru * Chicago, USA (consulate) |