The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have condemned President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming visit to the United States, warning that it risks the country being undermined. The President is set to meet with Donald Trump next week in a bid to “reset” relations between the two countries.
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The EFF’s National Spokesperson, Thembi Msane expressed scepticism about the motives behind the meeting, arguing that Trump does not appear to have any intention of mending strained relations.
“The Trump administration has no intention of listening to facts or reality as it relates to the transformation agenda in South Africa or the treatment of Afrikaner people,” she said
She believes Trump’s only intention behind the visit is for Ramaphosa to account for “a non-existent genocide of Afrikaners in our country”.
Msane further accused Trump of using claims of a so-called “white genocide” to discredit South Africa’s social justice efforts.
She warned that Ramaphosa could face the same “embarrassment and shame” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did in his meeting with Trump at the White House earlier this year.
Moreover, the EFF expects that the visit will achieve little, and leave South Africa vulnerable to external interference.
“We remind President Ramaphosa that he has no mandate to renegotiate these laws with foreign powers, and he has no mandate to make assurances that these pieces of legislation will be reconsidered, as such powers lie in the hands of the Parliament of South Africa. These laws were not drafted for approval in Washington, but they are expressions of the democratic will of our people,” explained Msane.
The party has also taken issue with the president going abroad at a time when the contentious budget, the third version thereof, will be presented. That’s scheduled for 21 May, the same day on which Ramaphosa is expected to meet with Trump.
Thembi Msane has described this as irresponsible.
“That Ramaphosa would leave on the week South Africans receive the Budget shows a misalignment of priorities and confirms a perception that he has been summoned by Trump,” she said.
