What is Ramaphosa’s Trump card?

Is post-apartheid redress a valid excuse for race-based South African laws?

The SA delegation for today’s meeting with US president Donald Trump seems to think so. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya told media that Trump and SA-born billionaire Elon Musk view SA’s “redress laws as discriminatory and racially based”.

And Ramaphosa has failed to persuade US critics to change this view. Not surprising.

“The president has directly engaged Musk on this, but judging on what we have seen on X, he has not accepted that explanation; if anything, he has gone on to further weaponise his X platform against South Africa using disinformation.

“So those are issues the president holds firm views on, and we will expect they will inspire rather robust discussion”.

It is not good to hear Ramaphosa firmly believes race-based legislation is necessary in the name of redress.

Ill-advised for Ramaphosa to keep saying Trump is misinformed

Let’s distinguish between fact and opinion. Fact: there are laws, policies and practices through which South Africans are treated differently depending on skin colour.

Fact: black people were treated abominably.

They suffered under apartheid.

Whether the current unequal treatment is right or wrong, justified or unjust, is a matter of opinion.

Objectively, all laws which promote the interests of some people, based on their skin colour, and exclude others, are “discriminatory and racially based”. To pretend otherwise is to alter the meanings of the words.

This isn’t a Lewis Carroll fantasy where Humpty Dumpty declares: “When I use a word, it means just what I chose it to mean — neither more nor less”.

No, this is reality where the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and all related legislation benefit black people, while limiting opportunities for whites and other minorities.

And there’s more race-based legislation on the way. Andrew Kenny, a registered professional engineer with degrees in maths and physics, wrote this week about how the latest amendments to the Employment Equity Act will inevitably result in qualified white people leaving in droves.

Trump may be criticised for his interpretation of words such as genocide and refugees, but he and his team are well-informed on factual details of SA’s race-based laws.

Tactically, it would be ill-advised for Ramaphosa to keep saying Trump is misinformed. Fawning and flattery, as some are suggesting, probably wouldn’t be too smart, either. Insincerity would be obvious.

Far better to agree, within reason, with the other side’s opening remarks in order to help create a receptive environment.

Then what? Trump is “transactional”. He likes to treat engagements as deal-making opportunities. And he wants to emerge with the best deal.

ALSO READ: Cyril is damned –no matter what

Ramaphosa should be prepared

If Ramaphosa’s entourage are well prepared, they should have some proposals that he might find attractive. Some cards to play.

What does South Africa have to offer? Will race-based legislation be toned down, or the Expropriation Act amended?

Will Ramaphosa take a stand against Julius Malema-style hate speech? Will SA withdraw its International Court of Justice genocide case against Israel, or stop supporting Iran?

Top choice should be phasing out race-based legislation. This would boost the economy and create jobs. That’s the best redress.

Jobs and growth, without which redress is worthless.

Will Ramaphosa play this Trump card?

NOW READ: Ramaphosa faces an impossible task in meeting with Trump