South African civil rights activists urge Trump not to punish South Africans

South Africa civil rights organisation AfriForum says it is going to write an official letter to the United States government requesting that President Donald Trump not punish South Africans, but focus on the politicians responsible.

AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel, sat down for an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday and did not mince his words when he laid the blame for the US threatening to halt aid to South Africa, at the ruling party’s feet.

Kriel said by signing the land expropriation bill into law, President Cyril Ramaphosa jeopardizes the future of the poorest in the country, as they would be the ones most impacted by the U.S. withdrawing aid.

“We believe the ANC (African National Congress), which is the biggest party in the country, and the President himself should be held accountable. They are responsible for what happened because you don't have to be an economist to know if you infringe on property rights, it will scare away investors. It will create enemies in countries that feel strongly about the free market. And that is exactly what happened when President Ramaphosa signed the expropriation Act at the end of last year,” he said.

Kriel said AfriForum has already warned Ramaphosa and the ANC that the signing of the Expropriation Act, as well as the enforcement of the country’s existing racial laws, will have serious negative implications for investor confidence in South Africa.

He also rubbished claims by the government that AfriForum was among those responsible for misinforming the US government about the state of affairs in South Africa regarding property rights.

“People now saying we ill-informed or misinformed the US government. I think that is actually ludicrous. The fact is the U.S. government has a State Department, which has embassies that monitor issues in the country. And you know, these people that blame us think the U.S. can't read? because simply if you go and read the act, they can see what's in there. They are not just simply going to believe what we say,” said Kriel.

During a press conference held in parliament on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya commented on the role of South African-born Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk played in misinformation about the state of the country.

He eluded that President Donald Trump's sudden pledge to punish a key U.S. trade partner in Africa may have been inspired and encouraged by Musk, who has long criticized his homeland and has cast the law in question as a deliberate act to take land away from its white minority.

“We've had open engagements with Elon Musk. So in light of this recent development, it was sensible and logical and quite important that the President engages with him so that we reinforce his own understanding of what is happening in South Africa. And we flag our concern with respect to the disinformation that we saw in the announcement by President Trump, but also in his own response to our statement. The president was quite emphatic in saying South Africa does not have racist ownership laws. All our laws take their cue from our Constitution,” he said.

Ordinary citizens shared their thoughts on the matter with varying opinions.

Heidelberg resident Jimmy Tsoari believed that the implementation of the Expropriation Act could be beneficial for black South Africans interested in agriculture.

“White people have taken all of our land and I see the expropriation as a right thing. But I foresee we might struggle as most of us black people don’t know much about farming, only white people. The farmers know how to, that is why they use us. This is an opportunity for us black people to own farms so we can make a living,” he said.

While local fruit trader Dirkie Griesel says it’s important for expropriated land to be used for the benefit of the country’s economic growth.

“Before taking a farm they have to think what they are going to do with the farm. They can’t have a big piece of farm and they can’t do anything with it. They just bringing families there and use the grounds for whatever they want to use it for but without giving something back to the country, the economic to grow or for the South Africans local people to get food or something, it can’t be a good thing if they just take the land for nothing of use,” he said.