SA legislators have rallied around President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assertion of the country's sovereignty amid threats by US President Donald Trump over SA’s land policies and the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
The diplomatic fallout between Pretoria and Washington within the first three weeks of the Trump administration has raised fears that trade relations between the two countries could deteriorate including SA losing its preferential access to US markets under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Though differing on the Expropriation Bill, which has been cited by Trump as one of the reasons behind the decision to halt funding to SA, MPs during the debate on Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address called for unity in the face of external threats.
Ramaphosa stood firmly by SA’s foreign policy agenda when he delivered his state of the nation address last Thursday, saying the government would not be bullied and reiterating its support for Palestinians. A high-level delegation was to travel to various capitals to explain SA’s position, he said at the time.
The US allocated almost $440m in aid to SA in 2023, the latest year for which US government figures are available, of which the lion’s share ($364m) went to health.
“When a country faces a crisis, it needs to unite and navigate against the threat. That is what we must do now,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said.
Steenhuisen, who is also the minister of agriculture, however called for the Expropriation Bill to be amended to “better protect property rights”.
“We must approach our trading partners and seek to lower tariff barriers across the board to compensate for any increase in tariffs by the US,” he said.
“The US has bullied nations before, imposed senseless and arbitrary sanctions and threatened wars... We agree with you, president, that we should not be bullied,” EFF leader Julius Malema said.
John Hlophe, leader of MK, the official opposition, said SA should strengthen its economic relations with fellow Brics countries to counteract trade threats by Trump.
“While we expect President Donald Trump to end the imperialist war of Nato in Russia, and to disassociate from the neocolonial and dishonest so-called green energy transitions imposed on the developing world, we do not agree with him and his promotion of white supremacists who claim they are facing genocide in SA,” Hlophe said.
“There is no genocide and there is no threat of genocide in SA, there are legitimate cries of historically and presently oppressed and excluded black majority who demand the return of the land and wealth to the ownership and control of the people as a whole and not the privileged few beneficiaries of apartheid and colonialism.”
Rise Mzansi leader, Songezo Zibi echoed similar comments to Hlophe. “Now is the time to build alternative export and foreign exchange earning streams and to guard jealously trade and other relationships we already have. We must act with urgency and speed, while being calm and considered in how we respond to a clearly tempestuous administration across the Atlantic.”
With Tamar Kahn
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.