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Solidarity and AfriForum representatives in Washington D.C, United States (US). Picture: AfriForum
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says lobby group AfriForum and trade union Solidarity’s decision to send an envoy to the United States (US) ahead of the South African government does not put the country at a disadvantage.
The two organisations travelled to the White House this week, where they handed over a “Washington memorandum”.
The memorandum calls for humanitarian assistance for Afrikaans community development.
Their visit follows US President Donald Trump’s executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa in response to the Land Expropriation Act and the country’s genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Trump has also extended an offer of refugee status to Afrikaners — an offer that AfriForum and Solidarity have rejected.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday regarding Cabinet meeting outcomes, Ntshavheni took aim at the organisations’ visit to the US.
“I don’t know why they continue to go peddle lies, but we are not going to make some people peace-time heroes,” she said.
“If they don’t like South Africa so much and the efforts of government to redress inequalities of the past, why don’t they take up President Trump on his offer to resettle in the United States?” she questioned.
The minister emphasised that not all Afrikaners or white South Africans support AfriForum and Solidarity’s stance.
ALSO READ: AfriForum, Solidarity meet with top Trump officials [VIDEO]
She stressed that government is taking diplomatic steps to engage with the US, particularly regarding trade agreements such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
“From where we sit, we both have mutual interests in the development and growth of our own countries and economies.
“It is beneficial for the US to have good relations with South Africa, and it is beneficial for South Africa to have good relations with the US. So we cannot avoid each other.”
Ntshavheni also dismissed the suggestion that AfriForum and Solidarity had gained an advantage by engaging with the US government before official South African representatives.
“If you rush through, you may miss a lot of opportunities and a lot of things,” she said, insisting that the government does not see the situation as a crisis.
“We don’t believe there’s a need to rush; there are processes underway,” she added.
President Cyril Ramaphosa also weighed in on the organisation’s engagement with US officials, saying their actions fuel divisions.
“I have heard that AfriForum and Solidarity met representatives in the US government, and they are doing precisely what we said we as South Africans should not do.
“We should stop running to other countries. We should discuss our own problems here and find solutions, and that, in many ways, confirms our own sovereignty.
“It confirms our standing as a free and independent nation. A nation that can stand proud amongst many other nations and being able to say, we can solve our own problems,” he told journalists after speaking at an education lekgotla in Boksburg, Gauteng on Thursday.
READ MORE: AfriForum’s US meeting: ‘What happens in SA stays in SA’
The president urged unity, emphasising that South Africans should work together to resolve internal matters rather than seek intervention from foreign nations.
“We may differ here, but we will find solutions to whatever problems we have, and we have the way with all to be able to do that.”
Responding to calls for action against the organisations, Ramaphosa stressed the importance of conveying a clear message regarding the need to address issues domestically.
“What they are doing has spawned divisions in our nation, and that is not a nation-building process — running around the world trying to have your problems solved.
“You are just sowing divisions because now a number of South Africans then start looking at others negatively, and I don’t think that is the right way to handle our problems.”
Ramaphosa attended a Goldman Sachs event earlier on Thursday, where he disclosed that he had a conversation with Trump to congratulate him on his election victory.
“I’m very positively inclined to promoting a good relationship with President Trump,” he said.
He also argued that Trump “got the wrong end of the stick” on South Africa’s land policies.
“We had decided that it’s not best to have a knee-jerk reaction to all this. We wanted to let the dust settle.”
The president further emphasised that the country is working towards a broad-ranging agreement with the US on both diplomacy and trade.
“We have got to deal with each other whether we like it or not. We have got to look at other policy positions we may differ on and so it is my considered view that we have to make a deal.”
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