ANC leaders must bear full blame for Trump’s statements, says AfriForum
During a media conference today, the civil rights organisation AfriForum said that President Cyril Ramaphosa and the leadership of the ANC must bear the full blame for the American president, Donald Trump’s statement that he will cease funding to South Africa.
AfriForum also argues that the Presidency, the ANC and their allies’ attempts to blame AfriForum for Trump’s statements is a clear attempt from Ramaphosa and the ANC to try to exculpate themselves from the negative consequences of their own thoughtless, extremist policy courses and actions.
According to Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, Trump expressed his concerns over two specific matters, namely the government’s disregard for property rights, as well as minorities in South Africa being treated “very badly”, as Trump put it. Both elements of Trump’s commentary are a direct consequence of Ramaphosa and the ANC’s irresponsible actions regarding these two matters.
The ANC’s foreign policy to get involved in international power struggles and to side with the enemies of the USA, rather than remaining neutral, has also underlyingly contributed to Trump’s course of action, according to Kriel.
AfriForum indicated that Ramaphosa’s signing of the Expropriation Act, which threatens property rights, was the last straw. According to Kriel, AfriForum wrote to Ramaphosa in April 2024 to ask that he refer the Expropriation Act back to Parliament because Section 12(3) – that makes expropriation with nil compensation possible and that does not limit the circumstances under which it is applied – will scare away investors. “Unfortunately, Ramaphosa ignored this request. Ramaphosa, not AfriForum, signed this Act therefore the president must now bear full responsibility for the bitter fruit that this country and its people must now reap,” says Kriel.
Ernst van Zyl, AfriForum’s Head of Public Relations, says that the ANC’s statements and behaviour in the run-up to the signing of the Expropriation Act justifies concerns over this Act. “Attempts to amend the Constitution to destroy private property rights; the praise and hero worship of land grabbers such as Robert Mugabe; and the statement that the purpose of the Expropriation Act is to make expropriation without compensation possible, are only some of the examples of the ANC’s statements and behaviours that raise concern,” Van Zyl adds.
According to Jacques Broodryk, Spokesperson for Community Safety at AfriForum, there is a growing concern internationally over the breach of property rights through land grabs in South Africa. “Although the government thus far have not been directly responsible for land grabs, they are also to blame for it because police, in many cases, fail to act against occupiers and legislation makes it difficult to remove land grabbers from occupied land. On top of that ANC councillors have in the past been connected to illegal land grabs,” says Broodryk.
Referring to Trump’s concerns about minorities being treated “very badly”, Kriel points to Ramaphosa’s signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA) that specifically threatens the continued existence of Afrikaans-speaking cultural communities by targeting Afrikaans schools. According to Kriel, it is also under the ANC-controlled government that South Africa has 141 racial laws, of which 116 are new, still in the lawbooks.
The USA’s actions against the government’s breach of property rights and discrimination against minorities in South Africa can, according to Kriel, be intensified due to representatives of the ANC government – with Ramaphosa’s blessing – deciding to reach out to Hamas and to build relationships with countries such as Iran. It made the impression that Ramaphosa and the ANC have a strong anti-Western attitude and are choosing sides against the USA. “Neutrality could have ensured that South Africa could, without hindrance, continue their trade relationship with China and the USA, the country’s two largest trade partners,” Kriel adds.
The fact is that AfriForum tried very hard through conversations with Ramaphosa and the ANC, to find solutions for the crisis that the polarising Expropriation Act and BELA created, Kriel explains. He further argues that, despite Ramaphosa’s disregard for these attempts, AfriForum’s view remains that the country and therefore ordinary people must not be punished for Ramaphosa and the ANC’s actions. “Exactly for that reason AfriForum continuously asked that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) must be protected and, should the USA decide to act, they should rather focus on those that push through destructive policies,” says Kriel.
Kriel emphasises that AfriForum, out of loyalty to the country and its people, remains committed to finding solutions. “Therefore, we suggest that amendment acts that will resolve the problems in the Expropriation Act and BELA, as a matter of urgency be put on the table,” Kriel concludes.
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