WATCH | Ramaphosa calls AfriForum, Solidarity ‘unpatriotic’, but says ‘treason’ charge up to law enforcement

President Cyril Ramaphosa has slammed Afrikaner-interest lobby groups AfriForum and Solidarity as “unpatriotic” for instigating the diplomatic rift between Pretoria and Washington through fearmongering over South Africa’s expropriation law.

However, he said, whether their actions amounted to treason was best left to law enforcement to decide.

Ramaphosa was replying to questions from MPs in parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

His remarks come as the US has taken multiple actions against South Africa including cutting funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) and key officials such as US state secretary Marco Rubio snubbing South Africa’s G20 events.

ANC MP Lufefe Mkutu asked Ramaphosa for his views on AfriForum and Solidarity’s attempt to “hijack South Africa’s foreign policy” and whether he agreed that the “meddling” by the organisations constituted treason.

“I have expressed my concern and my disappointment at what AfriForum and Solidarity have been doing in spreading misinformation about their own country in the US and I regard that as being unpatriotic,” Ramaphosa replied. “Because when you are a patriot of a country, the best you do is resolve the problems you have in the country rather than begin to damage the sovereignty of your country by running off to other countries and expecting them to take action against your own country.”

Ramaphosa said he believed that the organisations instigated the action being taken against South Africa by the Trump administration.

He said this only sought to spread racist statements about South Africa when the country was focused on redressing past inequalities, but did not name it as treason.

“The fact whether that it is treasonous or not is a matter that, obviously, our law enforcement agencies need to look at. The National Prosecuting Authority needs to look at that. But I take a dim view — in fact a very negative view — of what has ensued as they run around the world badmouthing their own country, putting their country into disrepute ... by misinformation.”

Ramaphosa said the US remained a strategic and historic partner to South Africa, which  maintained its active engagements with the US through political, diplomatic and economic channels.

“After the election of President Trump in November last year, I had a telephone call with him to congratulate him and to reaffirm our commitment as SA to strengthening relations between our two countries.”

He said South Africa will continue to engage the US to correct the mischaracterisation by AfriForum and Solidarity and restore ties between the nations through various channels. He expressed confidence that the diplomatic and political efforts at smoothing things over would succeed.

“We have taken note of an executive order and recent statements by the current US administration about SA and aspects of our domestic and foreign policy. We have expressed concern about the mischaracterisation of the situation in our country and certain of our laws and policy positions.”

DA MP George Michalakis asked Ramaphosa what he would say to the car workers and farm workers who would lose jobs “when Agoa [the African Growth and Opportunity Act] goes” and South Africa can no longer participate in the preferential trade act of the US.

Ramaphosa replied saying a number of countries in Africa had been given the opportunity to participate in Agoa, had their participation withdrawn and have had to find ways in which they could enhance their exports.

“Participation in Agoa is not at our behest. It is at the behest of the US and what we seek to do, and have done for many years, is to demonstrate that we are a good trading partner to the US and, indeed, to many countries around the world,” he said.

“There is going to be a review of the Agoa process and last year you might recall we held the Africa and US Agoa forum here in our own country and we were able — together with other African countries — to demonstrate that we do derive value from Agoa, but we also give value.

“We export, but we also import from the US. So it is a two-way process as it is with many countries around the world. As it is now, we continue, not only in anticipation of an Agoa initiative, but we continue to expand our export market for a variety of goods around the world,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said Deputy President Paul Mashatile was going to Japan with a ministerial delegation to open up more market space for South African goods in the east.

Similar visits are planned for the Middle East, Europe and China to foster similar ties.

“We do not take the opportunity that we have, as it is called the African Growth Opportunity Act, lightly. But we also want to demonstrate that, yes, we also have value to add. When I spoke to President Trump ... I informed him that we value participating in Agoa but I also informed him that we also sell critical minerals to the US and the relationship is fairly balanced.”

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