President Cyril Ramaphosa insists that his government intends following through on sending envoys to the US as announced during his State of the Nation Address but that it will do so once it has crafted a “transaction” that could find favour with President Donald Trump’s administration.

Speaking during a session in Parliament to reply to questions from lawmakers, and specifically in response to a supplementary question posed by ActionSA MP Athol Trollip whether his envoys had not been beaten to it by “self-appointed envoys” in the form of AfriForum and Solidarity, Ramaphosa said: “No, we have not been beaten to it. We’ve been in very good preparation.”

He added: “The counsel that we got, which is very useful counsel from a number of quarters, is, yes, the United States is now in a milieu of being very transactional.

“They would like to see what transaction can be crafted with any country that they interact with.

“That process is under way through our various departments, and, in time, I will be able to send the envoys that should go, and they will be going under the rubric of advancing our foreign policy.”

Ramaphosa provided no insight into the nature of the transaction, but it is understood that South Africa’s critical minerals and America’s liquefied natural gas have been tabled as possible areas of interest.

The President insisted, too, that foreign policy remained the preserve of the executive.

“Other people who go hither and thither in the end do not represent South Africa,” he said.

Nevertheless, he expressed disappointment at the delegation sent by AfriForum and Solidarity after which Trump used his social media platform to offer a “rapid pathway to citizenship” for any South African farmer and their family “seeking to flee that country for reasons of safety”.

Trump had previously offered refugee status specifically to Afrikaans farmers, alleging, without evidence, that their land was being taken away as a result of a newly enforced Expropriation Act.

While Ramaphosa was speaking, the US Embassy posted the following on X: "US Refugee Admissions for Afrikaners Under E.O. 14204, the US is considering refugee resettlement for disfavored ethnic minority Afrikaners facing unjust racial discrimination in South Africa", with a link to a Website providing more information.

Trump’s administration has also withdrawn some $8-billion in yearly funding to combat HIV/Aids in South Africa and has also exited the Just Energy Transition Partnership, to which it had pledged some $1.5-billion.

There is also growing speculation that South Africa is likely to lose its preferential market access to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Ramaphosa described AfriForum and Solidarity’s disinformation campaign as unpatriotic, adding that they had “instigated” the actions now being taken by the US government.

“When you are a patriot of a country, the best [way] to resolve problems or issues you have is in-country, rather than begin to damage the sovereignty of your country by running off to other countries and expecting them to take action against your own country,” he said.

The President did not go as far as to describe these actions as treasonous, saying only that an allegation of treason was a matter for the law enforcement agencies to investigate.

“But I take a dim view, in fact a very negative view, of what has ensued.

“They run around the world, badmouthing their own country and putting their country into disrepute, not by things that are happening but by misinformation,” he added, decrying their statements as racist and divisive.

He also stressed that South Africa would continue to advance its international diplomatic and economic interests through various activities and forums, including an upcoming summit with the EU in South Africa, the African Union and the G20.

“What we seek to do is to advance our own country’s interests.

“And what we also seek to do is to be seen as a partner of equal value, a sovereign country, a country that is proud of what it stands for in the world.”