Trump-Ramaphosa meeting seen as key to easing tensions

Amid the deepening chasm between the Trump administration and South Africa – with the first batch of Afrikaners this week warmly received by Washington to settle as “refugees” – experts yesterday maintained a direct meeting between US President Donald Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa would be “a first prize” to soften tensions.

Not spared from increased global trade tariffs, South Africa has been badly affected from Trump’s freezing of all aid – adversely affecting HIV/Aids prevention, treatment and research programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Signalling a worsening of relations between the two countries, top US officials this week welcomed the Afrikaner settlers, claiming they had been “living under a shadow of violence and terror” in South Africa – an assertion Pretoria has described as “devoid of all truth”.

Afrikaner settlers welcomed by US officials

Justifying the resettlement of Afrikaners in the US, Trump told a White House media briefing he was allowing the group to stay in America to avoid “a genocide that is taking place” because “they are being killed”.

Reflecting on the upcoming meeting, Trump said he planned to address the “violence” issue when meeting Ramaphosa.

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“The South African leadership is coming to see me some time next week and we are supposed to have a G20 meeting there [in SA].

“I don’t know how we can go on in such a situation, because it is a genocide that is taking place,” said Trump.

Despite the US-SA political standoff, analysts were unanimous in welcoming the upcoming Trump-Ramaphosa engagement.

Trump-Ramaphosa engagement welcomed

“A direct meeting between Ramaphosa and Trump would definitely be the first prize for South Africa,” said University of South Africa professor emeritus of international law, André Thomashausen.

“Only a private and personal exchange can overcome barriers and hopefully misconceptions.

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“Trump will have read the briefings highlighting South Africa’s renewed obsession with race and the latest draft legislation aimed at limiting the number of white employees to 4% of the workforce.

“Ramaphosa will have a hard time to justify threatening young whites with statutory exclusion from employment 35 years after the end of apartheid,” said Thomashausen.

Political economist Sam Koma said the meeting would be “a step in the right direction”.

Step in the right direction

“Ramaphosa has previously expressed the need for South Africa to have a bilateral engagement with the US, to address crucial issues related to policy clarity, trade and economic cooperation in the form of appointing a special envoy to fulfil this task.

“This will now afford Ramaphosa an opportunity to have a face-to-face engagement augmenting several telephonic conversations he has had with President Trump.

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“He may also use this occasion to persuade Trump to reconsider his decision to boycott the G20,” said Koma.

Quoting The Economist, economist Khaya Sithole said: “Standing up to Trump does not mean that you win.

“But giving in, guarantees that you lose. For me that sums up the scale of the problem.”

‘Standing up to Trump doesn’t mean you win’

What made South Africa’s case unique was that “[Trump] has singularly targeted the country, based on specific issues that are easy to disprove”.

“The problem is that his immediate echo chamber is dominated by disinformation agents, with a vested interest in the delegitimisation of South Africa,” said Sithole.

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“In the absence of an ambassador, none of the other South African officials can get anywhere close to his ear.

“Ramaphosa must rise to the frontline and address Trump directly – representing the best chance of getting the message to him. That it is unlikely to sway Trump, is something beyond anyone’s control at this stage.”