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The civil rights organisation AfriForum says the reckless actions and policies of President Cyril Ramaphosa and other ANC leaders are directly responsible for South Africa’s deterioration relationship with the US. According to AfriForum, during his speech last night, Ramaphosa attempted to evade responsibility for the negative consequences of his own actions by falsely portraying the diplomatic crisis with the US as the result of so-called “disinformation” spread by groups in South Africa. 

Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum, says there is rather a direct connection between Ramaphosa’s announcement on 23 January this year that he had signed the Expropriation Act, which allows for expropriation without compensation, and President Donald Trump’s announcement only 10 days later that he was withdrawing US funding from South Africa due, among other things, to the disregard for property rights in the country. “Ramaphosa’s signing of the Bela Act, which threatens the survival of Afrikaans schools and consequently Afrikaans cultural communities, also sent a strong message to the US that Afrikaans-speaking minorities in the country are being targeted. This message has been reinforced by the fact that Ramaphosa still flatly refuses to condemn the ‘Kill the Boer’ call for ethnic violence against Afrikaners,” adds Kriel.

According to Kriel, it is understandable that Ramaphosa does not name those he accuses of disinformation, as there are no facts about who allegedly spread disinformation or, when and where it took place. “Media institutions that attempted to accuse AfriForum of disinformation have already had to officially apologise to AfriForum on eight occasions for spreading lies about AfriForum,” says Kriel.

Kriel reaffirmed that AfriForum remains committed to playing a constructive role in the interests of everyone in the country to salvage the deteriorating relationship with the USA. According to him, AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement have already presented proposed solutions to Ramaphosa and other ANC leaders on several occasions, but these have simply been ignored. “Ramaphosa’s blatant disregard for attempts to find solutions makes a mockery of his statement that he is committed to finding ‘South African solutions to South African problems’,” Kriel adds.

The disregard for property rights in Zimbabwe has, according to Kriel, led to widespread misery for everyone in that country, leading to millions of Zimbabweans fleeing their country. “AfriForum’s fight against expropriation without compensation in South Africa is therefore a fight waged out of loyalty to the country, while those who dismiss the threat that the Expropriation Act poses to the country as disinformation are acting disloyally towards the people of South Africa,” Kriel concludes.

Issued by AfriForum