Trump may talk rubbish, but AfriForum helps ensure the fallout is serious

THE strangest thing so early in Donald Trump's second term as president of America is how he produces the most bizarre things and then the media deals with them as if they were facts. This past week he announced that Egypt and Jordan had take in the 2 million inhabitants of Gaza so that he can have the chance to transform the area into the “Riviera of the Middle East". Most international news channels and also the local media discuss his ruling as if it were just another option that deserves mature consideration. Few tell him he is ridiculous and even fewer ignore him. 

His proposal that Canada become the 51st state of America and that Greenland come under American control is also being seriously discussed. Here in South Africa the head of international liaison at the Solidarity Movement, Jaco Kleynhans, a lifelong sycophant of American hegemony, has come up with the argument that South Africa must reach out to Donald Trump and the Americans for our own good. After the organisation he represents advocated for selective sanctions against South Africa.

However, it is not just the media. The current prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, explains with great seriousness and careful choice of words that this scenario is not feasible. But his explanation almost always comes after he tells what a great friend of America and how much he loves his neighbours to the south. Ontario Premier Doug Ford responds to a media question about Trump's idiotic proposal: “You know, it's not realistic. I know he likes to make these comments and he likes to joke - I take it seriously. He may be joking, but under my watch it will never, ever happen."

Why aren't more people as straight as the Danish politician Anders Vistisen? Vistisen said in the European Parliament: “[Greenland] is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand. Mr. Trump, f— off." Trump talks about international sovereignty as if it's a cheap territory along the Vaal River. Why does the media and the world take Trump's banalities so seriously? Well, because he has tremendous political power. And he understands political power as a byproduct of wealth, money. And he's willing to use it, even if it's in defiance of the US constitution.

Over the years, Donald Trump has made several comments that could be considered bizarre. In 2020, during a press conference, Trump suggested that research should be done on the possibility of injecting a certain disinfectant into your body to treat the coronavirus. In October 2020, at a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump described the late golf legend Arnold Palmer as a “real man" by inappropriately referring to his genitalia. In November 2024, at a rally in Milwaukee, Trump expressed his frustration over microphone problems by bending over and making movements that resembled oral sex. This is the type of criminal character that conservative Americans vote for and whose lips the right wing. South Africans hang "What would Jesus do?" i want to ask 

This past week, The Donald gave Elon Musk access to the US Treasury's payment system. Well, “special access”, because Musk is not himself on the federal administration's payroll. Trump, likely on Musk's recommendation, shut down USAID. This week he repeated his threat to take back" the Panama Canal. Meanwhile, he has fired the investigators at the department of justice who were tasked with the crimes of January 6, 2021. He had The New York Times, NBC and National Public Radio kicked out of the Pentagon and weclomed  far right media like The Post, Breitbart and One America News Network (OAN)  He closed thousands of government websites that refer to diversity and “gender ideology". This is not someone who wants to run America better, these are all signs of regime change by a dictator.

Local mutiny

AfriForum leaders, including CEO Kallie Kriel and deputy CEO Ernst Roets, travelled to the USA in May 2018 to create “awareness" about farm attacks and to state their opposition to land expropriation without compensation. During this visit, they met with policymakers and think tanks to discuss their concerns. Their visit included meetings with US officials such as John R. Bolton and staff of Sen. Ted Cruz. They also appeared on Fox News.

In January 2025, AfriForum representatives visited the USA again to express their opposition to the Expropriation Act. This law, which was signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, provides for expropriation without compensation under certain circumstances. AfriForum requested the American government to exert pressure on South Africa regarding possible property rights violations. The reality is that they are presenting the Dispossession Act to Trump and his administration as an attack on the rights of white people, which it certainly is not. Last week Trump spoke word for word from AfriForum's mouth by describing South Africa and the Expropriation Act as follows: “South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly. It is a bad situation that the radical left media doesn't want to mention as much. A massive human rights violation, at a minimum, is happening for all to see.”

Based on this, Trump announced last week that he intended to cut aid to South Africa. There can be no doubt about the similarities between Trump's statement and AfriForum's understanding of South Africa's realities.

Perhaps, as Dirk Hermann and Tim du Plessis claim, we should hold the ANC responsible for senseless policies that lead to unemployment and poverty, and probably also deaths. Many of us already do. The problem for South Africans is indeed that the ANC government is not trusted and should not be trusted. Most white and black people agree on this. The ANC received 39.75% of the votes cast in the May 2024 election. Of the registered votes, it got 23.55%. Among South Africans entitled to vote, only 15.27% of South Africans got up that morning to vote for the ANC. It is possible to read these figures as a massive distrust or disillusionment with the ANC government.

But who should we hold responsible for Trump's misrepresentations of what is happening in South Africa? There can be no doubt that Trump and AfriForum are reciting from the same text of misunderstanding and incomprehension. It is frightening to realise that names and voices like Jaco Kleynhans, Dirk Hermann, Kallie Kriel and Ernst van Zyl can have such a tremendous impact on some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

Van Zyl in particular made the argument last week that a distinction must be made between Trump's actions against Pepfar and his request for sanctions against certain leaders. But it is now as clear as day that Van Zyl uses his ignorance of the Expropriation Act to conduct right-wing and white politics. He wants to sweep the history of injustice off the table to advance what many black South Africans – and I – see as a racist agenda. His argument that the ANC must also bear the brunt of the consequences of an irresponsible campaign by the Trump administration is bizarre. I see my good friend and former newspaper man, Tim du Plessis, peddling the same short-sightedness. The reality is, South Africa will not survive the combined effects of the ANC's poor management and the right's irresponsible power politics. 

The US, primarily through Pepfar (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), plays a critical role in the global fight against HIV/Aids. By December 2024, Pepfar had provided around 20,6 million people worldwide with antiretroviral treatment – ​​two-thirds of all people receiving treatment.

In January, the Trump administration imposed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid, including Pepfar funding. This has caused serious disruption to programmes aimed at HIV treatment, especially in Africa. Clinics sent staff home, and distribution of antiretroviral medication was halted, leaving millions without treatment. The interruption of these programs threatens the continued existence of these essential health services, which could also affect tens of thousands of people close to those who rely on treatment. 

The suspension of aid caused immediate layoffs and operational problems for international development groups and private contractors working in South Africa. These organisations provide essential services such as health care and education, and ending aid threatens their sustainability. Thousands of students study with American funding at South African universities. For them, this announcement could not have come at a more inopportune time. Their hatred towards Trump and AfriForum is now rampant.

I have little doubt that Trump's irresponsible understanding of the Expropriation Act should be spread on AfriForum and Solidarity's bread. In the days and months to come, the people whose lives will be threatened by Trump's temporary withdrawal of funds will mostly be poor and black HIV-positive people. These are people towards whom AfriForum and Solidarity feel indifferent, but we must not miss a moment to remind them of the inhumane consequences of their irresponsible politics.

On January 29, 2025, US secretary of state Marco Rubio approved an “emergency humanitarian exemption". Of all people, Bill Gates, not AfriForum nor Solidarity, convinced Trump and Rubio to please not drive millions of babies and people to their graves with political recklessness. This enabled the resumption of HIV treatments in 55 countries.

On his Facebook page, Jaco Kleynhans boasts that during his recent visit he personally met with “senior Republicans (who now work in the White House)". This following Trump's words “South Africa is confiscating land" and “treating certain classes of people very badly". On February 3, 2025, AfriForum's Van Zyl reiterated that his organisation is asking for sanctions against South African leaders who can be linked to, among other things, the violation of property rights, with reference to the Expropriation Act. 

After Trump's ill-informed announcement, the rand's value against the dollar immediately weakened. This has consequences for the economy, which in turn has an impact on ordinary South Africans, not just the ANC and political leaders. There is now a real chance that the trade agreement in terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which gives South African exports duty-free access to American markets, could be suspended. It provides an income to thousands of workers, especially in agriculture and car manufacturing.

Reasonable voices with understanding

Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau for Economic Research and a professor of agricultural economics, says South Africans must remember that the new law does not amend the constitution, but rather clearly defines the conditions and procedures for expropriation. He points out that the law includes provisions for “zero compensation", but that any expropriation must still comply with article 25 of the constitution, that compensation must be "fair and just". He cautions against unnecessary panic, stating that the law creates clear guidelines for expropriation without fundamentally changing constitutional property rights.

Die real estate lawyer Madeleine Truter made a similar argument on X: “The act's alignment with section 25 of the constitution provides a more stable foundation for property rights, despite introducing new complexities. This constitutional grounding, while challenging in the short term, offers potential for increased certainty in property rights protection if implemented with consistency and transparency.” Both their arguments are in agreement with that of the former prof. Elmien du Plessis.

Nobody trusts the ANC anymore and Cyril Ramaphosa has also traded his political capital for cheap ideology. This is partly the reason why a workable document like the Expropriation Act has caused pandemonium in our national discourse. 

Even DA leader John Steenhuisen emphasised in response to Trump's statements that the Expropriation Act “does not allow arbitrary land occupations by the state". He said: “It is unfortunate that certain individuals tried to present the law as an amendment to the constitution." It is the case that the law should go to the Constitutional Court as soon as possible to be properly tested, but AfriForum and Solidarity prefer to drag it in by the scruff of the neck via the White House with a show of force.

Many white South Africans feel politically disempowered and are now seeking shelter and nurturing from Donald Trump. The American president's penchant for strongman politics is harmful, just as African leaders' strongman politics have caused enormous damage to the continent. You often hear the argument: He does what he says, as if it is simply a constructive way of working, but PW Botha, Jacob Zuma, Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot did the same. Be careful what you ask for.

Long ago I took the wise words of Elmien du Plessis to heart. When it comes to controversial decisions, policies and legislation, use the mechanisms that exist, have a conversation, seek a compromise where consensus is not possible. If you drag conversations into the realm of power politics, the bigwigs steal the limelight, but ordinary people pay the price.

♦ VWB ♦

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