Johannesburg ( CNN ) -- Miffed by a visa delay that led the Dalai Lama to cancel a trip to South Africa , Archbishop Desmond Tutu lashed out at his government Tuesday , saying it had acted worse than apartheid regimes and had forgotten all that the nation stood for . `` When we used to apply for passports under the apartheid government , we never knew until the last moment what their decision was , '' Tutu said at a news conference . `` Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government . `` I have to say that I ca n't believe this . I really ca n't believe this , '' Tutu said . `` You have to wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here . '' The Dalai Lama scrapped his planned trip to South Africa this week after the nation failed to issue him a visa in time , his spokesman said . Visa applications for him and his entourage were submitted to the South African High Commission in New Delhi , India , at the end of August , and original passports were submitted on September 20 , more than two weeks ago , a statement on his website said . However , South Africa 's foreign affairs office said it did not refuse a visa . `` South Africa will not comment on the decision , because it is not our decision , it is his decision , '' according to spokesman Clayson Monyela , who said the visa application was still under consideration . The Dalai Lama had been invited to the country to receive the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation and to speak at a number of events , including a lecture in honor of Tutu 's 80th birthday . Tutu and the Dalai Lama are recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize . Tutu said he would pray for the defeat of South Africa 's government , led by the African National Congress ( ANC ) , which is rooted in the fight against the system of apartheid , or legal racial separation , that was present in South Africa until 1994 . `` You are disgraceful , '' Tutu said about the government . `` You are behaving in a way that is totally at variance with the things for which we stood . '' The ANC plans to call on government officials to explain to South Africans why the visa process was delayed , spokesman Jackson Mtembu said . He said everyone was in the dark about this matter . But he also suggested that Tutu calm down . A comparison to apartheid regimes , he said , was unfair . This is not the first time the Dalai Lama has not been able to visit South Africa . In 2009 , South Africa refused the Tibetan spiritual leader a visa to attend an international peace conference , saying it was not in the country 's interest for him to attend . In refusing the 2009 application , South Africa said that if the Dalai Lama attended the conference , the focus would shift away from the 2010 World Cup , the global soccer championship it was hosting . `` We can not allow focus to shift to China and Tibet , '' presidential spokesman Thabo Masebe said , adding that South Africa had gained much from its trading relationship with China . The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule , and China pressures governments around the world to deny him any legitimacy . Speculation surfaced Tuesday that this year 's visit was also affected by South Africa 's relationship with China . South African Vice President Kgalema Motlanthe visited Beijing last week and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao to discuss bolstering bilateral ties . Motlanthe said South Africa was ready to boost the strategic partnership between the two countries to a new stage , according to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua . But Monyela said the application had nothing to do with China . `` We are a sovereign nation which takes decisions in our domestic interest , '' Monyela said . The Dalai Lama posted a message on Twitter last week that said : `` Even if the Chinese leave nothing but ashes , Tibet will rise from these ashes as a free country even if it takes a long time to do so . '' Kim Norgaard , CNN 's Johannesburg bureau chief , contributed to this report .
NEW : The African National Congress says Desmond ##e should calm down . It says the government is acting worse than the protesters . The Dalai Lama of South Africa did not issue a visa on time . He was denied a visa to South Africa in 2009 .