Trump’s latest move will embolden some of ANC and Ramaphosa’s critics

US President Donald Trump administration has stirred up a hornet’s nest and polarised the political debate in South Africa overnight.

This is the view of political analyst Daniel Silke.

“It’s a polarisation we certainly needed in SA but it can also destabilise the country in terms of the ability of those who are critiquing the ANC being much more vocal now because they think they have Trump’s backing. ‘If Trump could say this, so could we, as Trump’s got our back’,” he said.

ANC to bow to Trump or double down?

Silke said it also resurrected old and current resentments and highlights how close some of these resentments were to the surface for radical black and more conservative white groups.

“That’s obviously not good for a country that should be building something that we have lost our way with.

“It puts SA in very awkward positions and the ANC in an awkward position because they will have to decide whether they will try to placate Trump or are they going to double down and hold firm with the Bela Act, Expropriation Act and the rest of it,” he said.

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Trump has signed an executive order granting Afrikaners refugee status in the US.

The order was in response to SA’s land policy that allows its government to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation” and SA’s genocide case against US ally Israel in the International Court of Justice.

Silke said it was likely that the ANC would respond and say they would not bow to Trump because it could be a vote catcher and revive nationalism for the ANC.

“How the ANC reacts to this is critical and a problem for the DA, the opposition in South Africa.”

Silke said a much more diplomatic approach was needed because we needed the US more than the US needed SA.

Afrikaners were never going to leave

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said we did not need a cultural accord between Afrikaners and the government.

“Afrikaners are not being targeted. We need an accord between South Africans and the government and one that is maintained, respected and honoured by the government, that’s our problem,” he said.

Senior political lecturer at the North-West University Dr Benjamin Rapanyane said Afrikaners were never going to leave in the first place.

READ MORE: ‘We are here to stay’- AfriForum respond to Trump’s plans to resettle Afrikaaners as refugees

“They were being dramatic for nothing. Now the consequences of their drama outweigh the benefits,” he said.

Rapanyane said SA was also the Afrikaner’s home “just like it is our home”.

South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA president Neil Diamond told SABC News at the weekend that in the 18 hours following the order being signed, it had received more than 10 000 enquiries from South Africans about the relocation process.

‘No-one is left behind’

Southern African Agriculture Initiative board chair Dr Theo de Jager wrote an open letter to Trump thanking him for the special provisions made for Afrikaners and urging him not to close the door on black farmers.

“What we need is opportunity – real opportunities for the next generation to study, learn and compete globally while ensuring no-one is left behind.

“We need space for our diverse communities to preserve their heritage, culture and languages, particularly through mother-tongue education.

“We sincerely appreciate this, as many farmers in South Africa face dire circumstances – threats of land expropriation, increasing rural crime and discriminatory access to financing and other critical resources.

“For some, the opportunity you have extended may be their only viable path forward,” De Jager wrote.

“As a fundamental patriot yourself, you will understand our commitment to stay and fight for our home. Africa is in our blood and despite the challenges, the vast majority of us have chosen to struggle within the ambit of our constitution to build a non-racial society,” he wrote.

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