Ramaphosa ‘disappointed’ as Trump bypasses diplomacy with SA – report

Ramaphosa

Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed disappointment over US President Donald Trump’s failure to engage through diplomatic channels before signing an executive order cutting all funding to South Africa.

The order, issued in response to SA’s Expropriation Act and its genocide case against Israel at the ICJ, also includes a plan to relocate Afrikaners to the US, claiming they are being oppressed.

According to Times Live, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, criticised the lack of diplomatic courtesy, saying that South Africa was not informed beforehand and that such actions escalate tensions unnecessarily.

“The absence of basic diplomatic courtesies is rather disappointing. First, it is not unreasonable to expect that a country that you have established diplomatic, political, trade and cultural ties with, will at the very least engage over issues of concern before reaching ill-informed conclusions and decisions,” the report quoted Magwenya as saying.

“Second, dispatching a formal notification of these decisions ahead of their announcement would have been a courteous thing to do.”

He reiterated that SA remains open to dialogue but will not be bullied, echoing Ramaphosa’s stance in his State of the Nation Address.

Magwenya noted that the dispute extends beyond land expropriation, highlighting US concerns over SA’s ICJ case against Israel, its G20 agenda promoting equality, and the relocation of Taiwan’s liaison office. He also accused Washington of distorting facts about South Africa.

Earlier, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) dismissed Trump’s order against the country, saying that the it ignores South Africa’s historical context and misrepresents the country.

“The Government of South Africa has taken note of the latest executive order issued by President Trump. It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.

“We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation. It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the United States of America,” the department said in a statement.

Dirco also criticised the irony of offering refugee status to Afrikaners – one of the most economically privileged groups – while the US simultaneously tightens its own refugee policies.

“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.”

Trump’s order comes amid growing tensions, including the recent suspension of key US HIV/Aids funding to South Africa and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s withdrawal from a G20 summit in Johannesburg. Despite these disputes, the South African government emphasised its commitment to diplomatic solutions.

Meanwhile, AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel acknowledged Trump’s recognition of Afrikaners’ alleged discrimination but reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to remaining in South Africa, sayingthat Afrikaners’ future is rooted in Africa.

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