Thursday, 15 May 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has taken note of the confirmed visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the United States to meet with Donald Trump. Although it is normal for Heads of State to interact on a variety of diplomatic, trade and economic issues of importance, the context of this visit is a clear attempt by Donald Trump to undermine South Africa and dictate the form and pace of our transformation initiatives.

It was made patently clear by Donald Trump in an address to the media on the 12^th of May 2025 that the sole intention of the visit by South Africa would be for our nation’s leaders to account regarding a non-existent genocide of Afrikaners in our country. Cyril Ramaphosa is therefore poised to be embarrassed and shamed by an illiterate imperialist and bully, the same way Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in recent months.

It is also concerning that Cyril Ramaphosa has chosen to embark on this visit on the week that South Africa will receive a third version of the National Budget. There are no pressing concerns that need to be addressed with the Trump-administration at this stage, and that Ramaphosa would leave on the week South Africans receive the Budget shows a misalignment of priorities and confirms a perception that he has been summoned.

The EFF wants to make it categorically clear that the Trump administration has no intention of listening to facts or reality as it relates to the transformation agenda in South Africa or the treatment of Afrikaner people. The disinformation around a genocide in South Africa and the terrible treatment of white minorities is nothing but a useful tool in the hands of a short-sighted white supremacist, whose sole intention is to undermine South Africa’s moral standing in defence of the genocidal Israeli State.

It should be telling to all peace-loving people of the world that Donald Trump has suspended the Refugee Resettlement Program for all other nations, including for people who suffer genuine and verifiable persecution such as the people of Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the people of Palestine who are being killed using weapons paid for by the US-government, while he has made an exception for those racists who are fleeing democracy and constitutional rule by Africans here in South Africa.

The visit in this context, can be viewed as nothing less but a submission, and should have alternatively been pursued through other diplomatic means that would not give a platform to a crazed and maniacal Trump-regime, that already has a predetermined agenda against South Africa.

South Africa does not owe Donald Trump or the U.S. government an explanation for our legislative agenda. As the EFF we urge Cyril Ramaphosa ,as he approaches inevitable embarrassment, to reaffirm the legitimacy and moral clarity of our constitutional call for land expropriation without compensation, a historical corrective and central pillar of genuine economic freedom even in its limited expression through the Expropriation Bill. Ramaphosa must remain firm on our laws, such as the recently passed Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, and the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, which represent a necessary break with a racist colonial past and racist separate development in education and healthcare.

We remind President Ramaphosa that he has no mandate to renegotiate these laws with foreign powers, and he has no mandate to make assurances that these pieces of legislation will be reconsidered as such powers lie in the hands of the Parliament of South Africa. These laws were not drafted for approval in Washington, but they are expressions of the democratic will of our people.

Furthermore, we urge Ramaphosa to reaffirm that South Africa’s position on Israel’s genocide against the people of Palestine is morally just, legally sound, and consistent with international humanitarian law. The EFF reminds the nation that the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador and closure of the embassy is a resolution of the Sixth Parliament, and it remains binding on the state. No foreign threat or economic coercion must derail South Africa’s principled stance on Palestine.

The sudden aggression from right-wing American voices is not about human rights or concern for Afrikaners, it is an orchestrated campaign of disinformation, painting South Africa as a site of “white genocide” in order to undermine our moral standing and international credibility. This is straight from the U.S. imperialist playbook: the same propaganda used to isolate and destabilise any nation that resists Western domination, dares to challenge apartheid Israel, or begins to chart an independent development path.

Furthermore, Trump is allowing himself to be directed by his political puppet master and handler, Elon Musk, whose hostility toward South Africa stems from nothing more than the country’s refusal to roll over for corporate greed. Musk is not acting in defence of Afrikaners or any human rights concern — he is simply lobbying for preferential access for his Starlink enterprise, while refusing to comply with South Africa’s laws on ownership, equity, and local participation. South Africa should not revise its laws to accommodate Starlink or Elon Musk. Our telecommunications regulations are not up for negotiation with any corporation, no matter how powerful its owner believes himself to be.

If President Cyril Ramaphosa has an interest in exhibiting strength, independence and sovereignty, and wants to follow in the footsteps of the People’s Republic of China who embarrassed Trump during his ill-conceived tariff war, then he should tell Donald Trump that he is welcome to keep the racists and cowards who ran from the transformation of South Africa. We will keep our land, our people, and our sovereignty.

South Africa is not for sale and our policies are not up for negotiation. And our commitment to justice — for our people and for the people of Palestine — will not be silenced by threats from imperial masters.

The EFF remains firm in defence of our democratic gains, the dignity of our people, and the right of South Africa to choose its own path free from U.S. interference.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581