Uncertainty over Ramaphosa's diplomatic mission to the US

The ANC has thrown its full support behind President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of his expected meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington where he will attempt to persuade Trump that there is no Afrikaner genocide or persecution in South Africa. 

The expected visit comes despite experts raising concerns that the meeting could be a fruitless exercise as the Trump administration is aware that there is no genocide or political violence against Afrikaners.

Ramaphosa will travel to meet Trump in the wake of a recent chartered flight that transported 59 Afrikaners to the US on Sunday night.

The group, who have been granted refugee status by the US government, has claimed that they have been subjected to a barrage of violence in South Africa because of the colour of their skin, fueling already existing tensions between the two countries.

Trump in February signed an executive order which gave his administration the go ahead to admit Afrikaners from South Africa who applied to be resettled in the US because of this purported violence.

Central to the squabble between two countries is the Expropriation Act that was signed by Ramaphosa last year, which allows the state to acquire land for public purposes or in the public interest.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday vowed that  Ramaphosa had the full backing of the party saying that the meeting was a necessary step towards mending relations with the US.

“The ANC supports the president of South Africa meeting with the president of the US. It would be the first time since the inauguration... they have been receiving reports and they have been talking on the phone…so we have confidence that the meeting is necessary,” Mbalula said.

However Mbalula raised concerns that Trump had the wrong idea about South Africa, saying that the untruths must be dispelled.

“The distortion that there is a genocide and we are killing a particular race group in our country must be dispelled because its worrisome,” Mbalula said.

Ramaphosa on the government’s social media platform on Wednesday addressed the issue saying that those that had fled were not being persecuted but wanted to leave because they did not want to change in accordance with the constitution.

He said that the American government had the wrong end of the stick, however, they would continue to engage with them.

The US Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Tuesday released a statement saying the arrival of the 59 Afrikaners sent a clear message that the US would act to protect victims of racial discrimination.

“No one should have to fear having their property seized without compensation or becoming the victim of violent attacks because of their ethnicity.  In the coming months, we will continue to welcome more Afrikaner refugees and help them rebuild their lives in our great country,” Bruce said.

International relations expert Dr Rich Mashimbye said Ramaphosa’s visit to the US was clouded in uncertainty, especially after the US had welcomed Afrikaner 'refugees'

“Visiting the US now will be risky for Ramaphosa as he might be subjected to embarrassment by Trump, as we saw with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he visited the White House recently."

Mashimbye said Trump was fully aware there was no genocide or violence in the country.

“As a president of a country with one the largest embassies that is fully staffed in South Africa, Trump has access to all the information he requires about South Africa's transformation project and he likely knows that the issues of land reform and crime dynamics are not has has been portrayed so far. He knows that there is no genocide happening, nor confiscation of white owned farms in South Africa. 

“It is likely that the diplomatic attacks directed at South Africa are aimed at discouraging the Ramaphosa government from robustly executing the transformation project. This would align with key Trump advisors like Elon Musk and David Sachs who have South African roots and are opposed to the transformation imperative in South Africa,” he said.

Another expert Dr Noluthando Phungula said she was confident the meeting would hold.

“The South African government reiterated its commitment to finding diplomatic solutions to any misunderstandings or disputes. I am confident that the Trump administration is well aware of the actual status and stance of Afrikaner people in this country, which is largely privileged.  As such, whether the administration can be convinced is neither here nor there.

"However, the message that there is no Afrikaner genocide must be clarified... whether the message is received is something else,” Phungula said.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za