RAMAPHOSA TO RESPOND TO TRUMP'S FIVE DEMANDS AS SA-US RELATIONS REACH BOILING POINT
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to formally respond to United States President Donald Trump's five demands on South Africa, ending months of diplomatic silence that Washington says is now being interpreted as defiance.
The Presidency has confirmed to the media that President Ramaphosa will reply to the demands which were tabled by the United States Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III.
Responding to questions from one of the online publications, Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that a response is being prepared, although he could not provide a specific timeline.
The confirmation follows a high-level meeting between President Ramaphosa and Ambassador Bozell at the President's official residence, Mahlamba Ndlopfu in Tshwane, on the 28th of August.
The Presidency described the engagement as an opportunity to strengthen and recalibrate relations between South Africa and the United States at a time when the bilateral relationship has been under severe strain.
Behind the polished diplomatic language lies deep tension. Ambassador Bozell has been blunt in public. He has said Washington compiled five clear asks and presented them to the South African government almost a year ago, and has grown frustrated by the lack of response.
In his own words earlier this year, the United States has been very firm, it will not tiptoe around issues it considers critical, and the continued silence from Pretoria is now seen as a political statement in itself.
The first demand touches on the safety of rural communities. Washington wants South Africa to treat farm attacks as a priority crime and to offer stronger protection to farming communities, an issue that has received global publicity.
The second demand concerns political rhetoric. The Trump administration wants the South African government to publicly and unequivocally condemn chants that incite hatred and glorify violence, specifically the controversial kill the boer chant which the US Ambassador has described as a war chant and as hate speech.
The third demand deals with property rights and the Expropriation Act. The United States is demanding that South Africa guarantees fair and clear compensation standards and moves away from normalising nil compensation in its land reform laws.
The fourth demand goes to the heart of South Africa's economic transformation policy. Washington wants an end to what it calls the mandatory surrender of ownership or control over corporate decision making as a cost of doing business in South Africa, a direct reference to Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment.
While the Ambassador acknowledged that BEE seeks to correct historic injustice and expand opportunity, he argued that when the policy creates ownership challenges, complex compliance requirements and is clouded by corruption allegations, investors begin to reassess risk.
The fifth and most politically sensitive demand relates to South Africa's foreign policy alignment. The United States wants South Africa to end its association with Iran and other enemies of Washington and to become truly non-aligned as it claims to be. This comes amid growing concern in Washington about South Africa's deepening engagement with some of America's greatest geopolitical adversaries.
Investec Chief Economist Annabel Bishop has warned that this development should not be taken lightly. While South Africa's AGOA trade privileges have been renewed, she noted that they can be revoked.
The United States has a history of imposing targeted sanctions, and while the current measures are aimed at individuals rather than the country as a whole, the extreme risk, though not currently seen as likely, could include asset seizure, withdrawal of American companies, a ban on US bank lending and a sharp drop in portfolio investment.
For President Ramaphosa, the moment is delicate. He has previously declared that South Africa will not be bullied, that South Africa is a sovereign state, a proud member of BRICS and a country that successfully hosted the G20 autonomously despite Washington's pressure. Now he must answer five questions that will determine whether the relationship with the United States is repaired or ruptured.
The Azanian will publish the response the moment it is released.
Comments