Cape Town — Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has spoken out on the recent squabbles between South Africa and the USA, and said it was important for the two countries to mend the relationship between each other.
South Africa and the USA have come to blows with each other in recent times. This started after US President, Donald Trump, revealed that he would be cutting all HIV/AIDS funding to South Africa. He also issued an executive order to cut USAID to South Africa, while he also offered the US as a place of refuge for Afrikaners as he believed their land was expropriated.
In response to the ongoing turmoil, Minister McKenzie sat down for an interview with Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh and he praised Ramaphosa for standing up to Trump and standing firm when it came to protecting South Africa.
“I think the president is right. No president should be bullied. For me, it was brilliant what he said. But, I want to say that America needs South Africa in particular and South Africa needs America in particular,” he said.
“A president shouldn’t be reading on the internet what you think of their dissatisfaction. But the biggest thing America did wrong was to believe this saying ‘White people are under siege’. That is not true,” he said.
Here @GaytonMcK addresses the recent Trump Administration’s comments about South Africa. Ayeye! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/37K6bZCxKX
— Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh (@SizweMpofuWalsh) February 9, 2025
McKenzie used Burkina Faso as an example and said it would never tell us what we can and cannot do but America remained important to South Africa, especially over the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) concession.
“When a person gives you money, you cannot ignore that person and that person has a right to ask you questions. I do think that we need to address the Americans and try to fix the relationship,” McKenzie said.
He has recently been accused of being an ‘arse-licker’ and he said that it may be true, but he has certain roles and responsibilities to fill as a leader.
“A leader doesn’t make you an ordinary person, you are a person leading ordinary people. A leader must not have an ego. A leader must say ‘People are going to die’,” he said.
He said the end of the AGOA funding will mean job losses for doctors and nurses, businesses and deaths of people.
“As a leader, I need to put that before my ego. If it means I have to lick arse for my people to stay alive, I, as Gayton McKenzie, not the GNU, I will do that. If it means I got to lick arse for industries and people to survive, I will do that. I can’t be arrogant. Some things are uncomfortable to say, but sometimes it is necessary to say,” McKenzie said.
Picture: X/@MinisterMcK
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
