US Senator Ted Cruz has come out swinging against SA ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying on social media that an attempted reset of diplomatic and trade ties between the two countries was not in Maga’s interest.
Maga — “Make America Great Again” — was a political slogan popularised by Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. The Maga movement believes the US has lost its former greatness due to foreign influence and seeks to restore it through “America first” policies.
“[SA’s relationship with] China and taking an aggressive position attacking Israel at the International Court of Justice, where he is pushing for precedents and policies that will not just undermine Israel but also expose US officials to vulnerabilities. I have every confidence that President Trump will demand SA officials change their policies, and will hold them accountable if they don’t,” Cruz said on social media platform X.
Ramaphosa is in the US at Trump’s invitation for a face-to-face meeting. The US is among SA’s biggest trading partners and more than 600 US businesses operate in SA.
Relations between the two countries have been strained with the US trying to dictate SA’s foreign policy, and relations have worsened with the US perpetuating a false narrative about SA.
Cruz also perpetuated the claim of a white genocide in SA, saying in the post, “Trump repeatedly and rightly criticised SA for human rights violations and activities.”
Meanwhile eNCA reported on Tuesday night SA businessperson Johann Rupert and renowned golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen would join Ramaphosa when he met Trump.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said SA’s sovereignty would be safeguarded as the government considered reported proposals to exempt Elon Musk’s Starlink from BEE requirements.
The exemptions, which have not been agreed to by the SA government, would see Starlink operate within the country without adhering to the 30% historically disadvantaged ownership requirement that SpaceX [Starlink’s parent company] would be obliged to comply with, were it to invest in SA.
The proposals, first reported by Bloomberg citing three government sources, are expected to form part of discussions between Ramaphosa and Trump on Wednesday in Washington.
Responding to questions by Business Day, the presidency spelt out the way forward for Starlink in SA.
“The department of communications and digital technologies has been working on a process to align sector regulatory instruments with the ICT sector code. This code provides for equity equivalent investment and other programmes. This process will allow multinational companies to invest in the sector using any technology, including LEO satellites. We are nearing the end of this process. At an appropriate time, an announcement will be made,” spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
He added there would be no executive order, which is understood to have been apart of Musk’s proposal to allow Starlink to immediately start operating in SA.
“Indeed, there have been talks with Starlink. However, the regulatory review exercise has been conducted with a view to benefiting the sector in general, increasing economic growth, and extending affordable access to broadband internet services,” Magwenya added.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.