The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said on Wednesday it was disappointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to “break diplomatic protocols” by calling businessman Elon Musk, saying he has “effectively reduced” the power that he holds as the President and “inevitably opened the Presidency up to be bought, controlled and manipulated” by big corporations.

Ramaphosa’s office posted on X on Tuesday that the President spoke with Musk on issues of misinformation and distortions about South Africa, where he reiterated South Africa’s constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality.

Musk had accused Ramaphosa of having “openly racist ownership laws” in a post on X on Monday.

All this, after Ramaphosa signed into law the Expropriation Bill, which has been met with criticism for its clause on nil compensation in certain cases.

The EFF said that Ramaphosa should have known that such calls to private individuals would “undermine” diplomatic protocols and the sovereignty of the country.

The party said it was a “clear indication of how the sovereignty of the country is compromised” for US foreign aid.

The EFF added that it was also a reflection of how “Ramaphosa is willing to embarrass” the country to the world because of what it believes is a "dependency syndrome".

“This unprecedented conduct by a sitting President to break the diplomatic protocols by telephonically lobbying an unelected billionaire who is hellbent on influencing the policies of our government has the potential to open the door for State capture. To this day, the country is still reeling from the capture by the Gupta family under former President Jacob Zuma,” it noted.

The party explained that Musk was not an elected government official of the US, but “merely” a businessman who funded the campaign of US President Donald Trump and as a result was “gifted” with a newly created position referred to as the "government efficiency department” and is a “glorified employee”.

The EFF said for Musk to use his proximity to Trump to impact the laws of South Africa, which the party said sought to correct historical injustices, by calling them "racist", was nothing but a misuse of Musk's relationship with Trump to facilitate a business transaction.

“Cyril Ramaphosa's call to Musk will only embolden him in his agenda to undermine our sovereignty and our laws, in order to gain access to the South African market for Starlink,” the EFF added.

The party wants Ramaphosa to refrain from relying on foreign businesses from the West and wealthy individuals in determining policy direction of the country.

Meanwhile, the party said it was ironic that few days ago, government spokesperson Vincent Magwenya was reprimanding Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe for failing to follow diplomatic protocols in addressing a similar issue, when Mantashe threatened to cut the supply of minerals to the US should they cut their aid to South Africa.