South Africa’s diplomatic image tarnished as London Mission shuts

The closure of South Africa House in London’s Trafalgar Square has triggered fresh criticism of the country’s management of its overseas diplomatic properties, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) accusing the government of allowing one of its most prominent foreign assets to deteriorate through years of neglect.

The South African High Commission to the United Kingdom reportedly ceased operations this week without prior notice after the condition of the historic building became unsuitable for staff.

According to the DA, employees have endured intermittent water supply, faulty heating, a persistent smell of urine in several offices and extensive deterioration of the building’s exterior and entrance. Local traders were also said to have complained that the landmark property had not received proper maintenance for years.

The party said restoring the building would now cost nearly R70 million, an expense it argued could have been avoided through routine maintenance.

It blamed the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for allowing what it described as one of South Africa’s most valuable overseas properties to fall into disrepair.

The DA said the situation in London reflected wider problems affecting South Africa’s diplomatic missions abroad.

It pointed to the South African Embassy in The Hague, Netherlands, which has remained closed for almost a year for refurbishment. According to the party, residents confirmed that no visible repair work has taken place since the building was shut, with no scaffolding erected or construction workers seen at the site.

The embassy’s operations have continued from temporary premises since DA representatives inspected the building in November 2025.

Criticising the governing African National Congress (ANC), the party said: “Much like many of the ANC’s broken local municipalities, the eyesores that are South Africa’s embassies and high commissions stand as an international testament to the corruption and state failure of our government and its foreign service under a political party that has long abandoned its sense of duty to the people of the Republic, whether in or outside our borders.”

The opposition party also renewed its call for changes to DIRCO’s spending priorities.

“The DA has long called for a reprioritisation of DIRCO’s spending to adequately staff a professional diplomatic corps and consular service, and maintain our country’s foreign assets as the backbone of a functioning foreign service.”

It criticised International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, saying: “Instead, DIRCO Minister, Ronald Lamola, continues to fund expensive international litigation while siphoning money from the Department’s budget to provide millions in humanitarian aid to the ANC’s allies in Cuba.”

The party further argued that the closure of South Africa House reinforced concerns raised by the Auditor General in the 2024/25 Budgetary Review and Recommendations Report, which found that DIRCO’s audit outcome had worsened because of poor management of foreign properties, leaving some of them “uninhabitable”.

The DA said: “This is the current state of South Africa’s foreign service – a shell of its former glory in the early days of our democracy.”

It added that South Africa’s diplomatic network would continue to decline “for as long as DIRCO’s spending serves the ANC’s party political international alliances and our foreign policy is used as a mechanism to dog whistle to the ANC’s friends”.

As a member of the Government of National Unity, the DA said it opposed what it described as the ANC’s misuse of the country’s foreign policy.

The party concluded: “If DIRCO is the outward face of the South African government abroad, then it is wrinkled, haggard, and decrepit. Our perception abroad is surely not much different.”