If ever one wondered which of the African countries should take up a permanent Security Council seat in a reconfigured UN system, the answer is staring us all right in the face. It is quite impressive that South Africa got the requisite votes (183 from 193) to serve another two-year term on the prestigious United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
In less than a decade the SADC region and the African Union (AU) has three times given Mzansi the thumbs up to represent the continent on the global peace and security body.
Given the colourful history South Africa has come to be known for over the years during the previous two stints, one has to wonder whether this time around, our representatives will avoid the International geo-strategic pitfalls lying ahead.
A cursory look back to the 2007/08 term, tells us that SA wanted to remind in particular the five permanent members on the council that the abuse of the system by themselves for narrow national security interest reasons will have to come to an end. They possess the veto power on any matter brought before the council, in other words they can individually overturn or put a stop to a resolution even if all the other members have reached agreement.
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