Wednesday, 5 February 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is dismayed by the decision of South African President Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa to break diplomatic protocols by calling an unelected government official, Mr. Elon Musk to explain himself about the Expropriation Act that he has recently signed into law.

This breaking of diplomatic protocol should never be taken lightly by the citizens, as it is a clear indication of how the sovereignty of our country is compromised at the behest of pandering for U.S foreign aid; and a reflection of how Ramaphosa is willing to embarrass the country to the world as a result of a dependency syndrome.

The irony about this is that few days ago, the government spokesperson Vincent Magwenya was scolding the Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe for failing to follow diplomatic protocols in addressing a similar issue, when Mantashe threatened to cut the supply of minerals to the U.S should they cut their aid to South Africa.

It is an objective fact that Elon Musk’s interference with U.S foreign policy as it relates to South Africa is rooted not only in his racist and white supremacist attitudes but is also based on his interests as a businessman to introduce his satellite company Starlink in South Africa. Musk is in a pursuit to introduce Starlink in South Africa and in doing so, seeks to circumvent existing legislation that prescribes that for licensing to be granted by the Independent Communications South African Authority (ICASA) to operate in South Africa’s satellite sector, at least 30% of the foreign owned satellite company must be owned by historically disadvantaged groups in line with the country’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy.

For Musk to use his proximity to U.S President Donald Trump to characterise the laws of South Africa which seek to correct historical injustices as “racist”, is nothing but a misuse of his relationship with Trump in order 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.

President Ramaphosa has effectively reduced the power that he holds as the President of the country and inevitably opened the Presidency up to be bought, controlled, and manipulated by big corporations of not only the United States of America but the whole world. It should be noted that Elon Musk is not an elected government official of the U.S, he is merely a businessman who was funding the campaign of the current U.S President Mr 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.

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.

Lastly, the EFF calls on Ramaphosa to refrain from relying on foreign businesses from the West and wealthy individuals in determining policy direction of the country. Ramaphosa should have known that such calls to private individuals would undermine diplomatic protocols and the sovereignty of our country.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572