Leadership Network, which includes the Solidarity Movement, Solidarity, and AfriForum have met with the ANC and the PAC to iron out differences that involve US-SA ties.
Image: Se-Anne Rall
The ANC has met with the Afrikaner Leadership Network on Tuesday night, which includes the Solidarity Movement, Solidarity, and AfriForum, in a surprise move facilitated by the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).
The meeting, described as "robust and frank," aimed to discuss matters of common interest to the country but has left some within the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) dissatisfied with meeting the Afrikaner organisation.
In March this year, the Afrikaner right-wing groups took a trip to the US, meeting with US President Donald Trump to raise concerns regarding SA’s Expropriation Bill.
AfriForum and Solidarity have been claiming that white people were under attack in the country, all the while rejecting an offer from US President Donald Trump for asylum.
At the time the organisations claimed that the South African government was ready to commit land grabs from Afrikaner land owners which was widely seen as spreading disinformation.
This was after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Bill into law which led to Trump cutting funding such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Pepfar), which would leave scores of South African citizens who are battling with HIV/AIDS in dire straits.
The US and South Afircas’s relationship has been strained following Trump's move with bigger threats to come such as raising tariffs and ending the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) benefits to South Africa.
However, insiders within the ANC have expressed discontent with the meeting, with some members questioning the decision to engage with AfriForum, known for spreading disinformation about a white genocide in the country.
An ANC insider said members of the ANC’s negotiating team, during the Budget negotiations, had initially opposed the idea when delegates of the PAC proposed that the governing party engage right-wing group AfriForum.
The source added that the ANC, during Tuesday's meeting, was looking to get the right-wing organisations to side with them against Trump asking them to smoke a peace pipe.
“The comrades are out of the depth because some within the NEC would never have dreamed of sitting down with the enemy while others deemed it necessary…But also this looks like we are conceding to months of disinformation that they have been spreading,” the source said.
He said the meeting did not bear fruit as it was the first of its kind.
The EFF has distanced itself from the meeting, with spokesperson Sinawo Tambo saying it's none of their business who the ANC meets with.
"Political parties meeting with racists and right-wingers is their prerogative... it's none of our business and we certainly won't be doing it," Tambo said.
African Transformation Movement president, Vuyo Zungula, said the meeting raised commitment to addressing historical injustices
“This reflects a government that seems more focused on appeasing white interest groups rather than championing the aspirations of all South Africans, particularly those who continue to face systemic inequalities.
“This meeting signals a troubling concession by the ANC. It indicates a willingness to engage with right-wing factions, which could be interpreted as a capitulation to pressures that undermine the transformative agenda. The ANC’s actions suggest that they may be prioritizing the appeasement of these groups over the principles of justice and equity, ultimately cowering to a narrative that seeks to protect whiteness rather than addressing the pressing needs of the majority of our population,” Zungula said.
The PAC, known for its hardcore Pan-Africanism, proposed the meeting, citing the need to neutralize US President Donald Trump's hold on AfriForum.
According to sources, the PAC team, including party president Mzwanele Nyhontso, secretary-general Apa Pooe, and spokesperson Jaki Seroke, advised the ANC to engage with everyone, including AfriForum, to bring issues to the table and listen to everybody.
The ANC delegation was reportedly advised to leave emotions out of the meeting and engage in discussions with everyone willing to participate.
However, some ANC leaders, including Trade, Industry, and Competition minister Parks Tau and his deputy Zuko Godlimpi, were reportedly not happy by the initial proposal to meet with AfriForum.
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za