Many South Africans, especially in the government, take the view that US President Donald Trump is misinformed when he talks of white genocide and white Afrikaans farmers being persecuted. However, it is just as likely that no amount of information would have much effect on his approach to SA. He is performing as much, if not more, to his own Maga base as he is to an SA or international audience. He is not about to let the facts spoil a good story. And SA is the perfect platform to pursue his antiwoke, antidiversity, equity and inclusion agenda.
Disaffected émigré South Africans such as Elon Musk may be poisoning his ear for their own reasons. But he is a willing accomplice. And from the right and the left some of SA’s own populists have provided him with plenty of material — be it Julius Malema’s Kill the Boer or the fake “Twatterbaas” social media account in which a four-star Gordon’s Bay guesthouse owner purports to be a persecuted farmer, both of which were on full technicolour display this week when President Cyril Ramaphosa paid the US president a visit at the White House.
It should always have been expected that Trump would go on the attack, rolling out the full-on performance of invective and fake facts on SA for the fans. If Ramaphosa and his team expected any less than that, they were naive. If he had any sense, Ramaphosa would have consulted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky for some survival tips beforehand. Perhaps he did, because, under the circumstances, it didn’t go that terribly. Crucially, Ramaphosa kept cool, calm and cordial in the face of Trump’s rudeness.
Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much of a strategy to mitigate the likely damage, other than the notion that we just had to tell Trump a few truths. Where was SA’s big social media campaign saying there were hardly two dozen murders on farms last year, most of which didn’t target farmers? Where was some effort at headlines that weren’t about criminality or victimhood? How strategic was SA in its approach to trade talks with the US?
At this stage, even those persuaded that SA is not persecuting white people and is, in fact, more of a democracy than the US may have come away with a picture of SA in which crime is endemic. That could be hugely damaging for SA’s international image. It could put tourism at risk, while US tourism to SA has picked up nicely. It could pose risks for existing and potential investments, too. A concerted effort is needed to undo the damage by taking action to curb crime and implement visa and other reforms to make SA as attractive as possible for tourism and investment from the US, and elsewhere.
But the Trump meeting should also be a wake-up call to SA, not on the Expropriation Act or BEE, but on its foreign policy. SA has signally failed over many years to have a coherent foreign policy strategy that is aligned with its economic and international trade interests.
And instead of deploying astute, experienced diplomats to diplomatic posts — Washington among them — it has too often deployed incapable cadres.
Its failure to nurture its relationship with the US over a long period is at least one reason for the Trump debacle. In a world thrown into turmoil by Trump, countries need carefully calibrated foreign policy strategies and sound leadership that can safeguard their economic interests. SA needs this more than most.
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