Lesedi Sibiya- Diplomatic Inside
President Ramaphosa arrived at the Joint Base Andrews Airport in Washington Monday afternoon and was joined by four South African ministers. Among the delegates who have joined President Ramaphosa include Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Ronald Lamola, Minster in the Presidency of South Africa, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen and Trade Minister, Parks Tau.
President Ramaphosa has travelled to the United States of America for a working visit. The purpose of the visit is to revitalise bilateral relations between South Africa and the United States. In this regard, the visit will focus specifically on reframing bilateral, economic and commercial relations. In recent times especially since early 2024 when the South African government took Israel to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) due to the ongoing genocide that they are inflicting on the Gaza strip, relations between the United States and South Africa have been dwindling, this is due to the US alliance with Israel. Now President Ramaphosa travels to Washington to improve relations between the United States and South Africa to salvage trade relations with the US more specifically in the Agricultural sector as this is one of South Africa’s biggest contributors to the country’s economy. President Ramaphosa’s visit to Washington also comes off the back of recent reports that there is a ‘White Genocide’ that is taking place in South Africa as more than 40 Afrikaners fled to the United States to seek asylum. These reports have led to President Donald Trump sanctioning their relations with South Africa by cutting financial aid to the country and granted refugee status to the group of white South Africans. This meeting between the two presidents is very vital in keeping the economic landscape of South Africa intact as the United States is one of our key investors. President Ramaphosa also has other agendas he will be discussing with President Trump and his administration such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine which the South African government has taken a stance against the former. When South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice in early January 2024, this took the world by storm as this was a bold stance especially considering that the United States are providing financial aid to Israel in the genocide inflicted on Palestine: “We invest in the United States and they invest in us, and we want to strengthen those relations. We want to consolidate good relations between our two countries. So, I’m very positive. I’m looking forward to the discussion’’ President Ramaphosa said.
These sanctions against South Africa by the United States is motivated by South African-born tech mogul, Elon Musk, who has claimed that his tech company Star-link has not been given jurisdiction to operate in South Africa because he is not a black citizen of South Africa. These are claims that the South African government have denied, since Elon Musk is seen as the advisor to President Donald Trump there is no surprise that he is undoubtedly fuelling these claims about South Africa to the United States President. It appears that Elon Musk does not take kindly to the conditions of Black Economic Empowerment rules (B.E.E) which requires foreign tele-communications licensees to sell 30% of their equites to locally marginalised/ disadvantaged businesses. Elon Musk is reportedly making it seem as though this is a way for the South African government to ‘steal’ his equity from his company which are claims that the South African government have continued to deny.
The South African Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, is among the delegates who are travelling with President Ramaphosa as he aims to secure trade benefits for South African farmers. Seeing as South Africa enjoys access to the United States Market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), this is now at risk following these sanctions from President Trump as well as his imposition of 10% tariffs on all countries imports to the US which took effect on April 5, 2025.
This meeting taking place today will be a crucial breaking point for the future of South Africa and it’s relations with the US considering the foundations of South Africa’s economic structure, as well as also giving Donald Trump and his administration assurance that South Africa is not exacting genocide against white South Africans and that despite South Africa’s stance on the ongoing conflict with Israel and Gaza, that both South Africa and the United States can find a common ground and keeping relations intact. President Ramaphosa will also attempt to press President Trump to attend the G20 summit to address these false claims of genocide in South Africa, where race relations will be discussed, and since Ramaphosa himself was instrumental in negotiations to end apartheid, this will be a key element to consider going into the G20 summit which will take place in November.
Why white South African refugees seek asylum in the United States
Controversy arises in South Africa as a group of over 40 white South Africans arrive in the United States as they claim that they are victims of a ‘white genocide’ that is allegedly taking place in the country.
Not only has the South African government denied claims of a white genocide taking place in the country but this has also sparked public outrage as these claims have no real basis to begin with. This has also sparked outrage towards President Trump because thousands of people from countries in Africa and the Middle East have been denied refugee status by the American government, which is seen as a divisive act of hypocrisy. The reason this issue is so divisive is because South Africa has a very sensitive history of colonisation which has only been abolished 31 years ago and in that time not much has changed in the way of economic relief for the black citizens of South Africa. Due to this being a very troubling reality for many black South Africans it seems that these claims made by these 40+ white South Africans have used these sentiments to drive a narrative that black South Africans want revenge for Apartheid.
The US deputy secretary of State, Christopher Landau, and Deputy Secretary of Homeland security, Tony Edgar, welcomed the Afrikaner family at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington DC with American flags for them to wave in solidarity. Christopher Landau has even expressed his solidarity with the Afrikaner family by empathizing with them by expressing that his own family has experienced what it is like to be displaced from their country with his father having to leave Europe due to the Nazi occupation during the second world war.
In January President Donald Trump suspended the US refugee settlement programme which has led to the displacement of over 100,000 people who have been given approval for refugee status but then the very next month granted refugee status to the Afrikaner settlers, which gives a racist undertone to the displaced African and Middle Eastern settlers in America who fled their countries due to war and acts of genocide.
The South African government has denied claims that such acts of violence are being perpetrated by these Afrikaner settlers as President Cyril Ramaphosa has been in talks with the American government that these claims are not true and even taking further measures by going to DC, to personally meet with Trump and his administration to make them understand that these claims are false, as he also mentioned in a conference he had in the Ivory Coast in early May
The message that Trump and his administration is sending to the global population is that as long as people look like him then their voices will be heard which reignites the same white privilege that the minority citizens of South Africans have been benefiting from since European colonialist first arrived on this continent. This narrative driven further by South African born tech mogul, Elon Musk, who has his own reservations with his native country as he believes that the South African government seek to have control of his tech enterprise, Star-Link, and considering that Elon Musk is seemingly an advisor to Donald Trump, this has made the situation even more distressing.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to mend relations with Donald Trump and his administration this week in Washington DC to de-escalate these claims made by the Afrikaner settlers.