Beyond Trump’s interest in South Africa policy

As Donald Trump entered the White House, he created a program to help the white minority in South Africa migrate to the United States of America; Where aircraft rented by the United States transferred two (African) citizens from South Africa to the United States, which posed many questions about the reasons and goals of this program?

In fact, a fundamental reason for what Elon Musk marks about what he describes as “black persecution of the white minority” in South Africa, a minority that does not exceed 7% of the population, but it has approximately 70% of agricultural lands. It is understood – implicitly – that it holds blacks responsible for the failure of economic empowerment policies that were approved three decades after the end of the apartheid and the rule of the white minority.

However, what calls for the question is: Why does Elon Mask lead this campaign specifically? The man was born in South Africa in 1971, and later moved to Canada, the birthplace of his mother, and from there to the United States, without registering any direct experience showing his exposure to blacks in his mother country.

Another aspect of this campaign reveals an increasing awareness of the white minority in South Africa that the endeavors of the black majority governments to enable citizens economically threaten to withdraw the rug of wealth from under their hands. This anxiety is strengthened in light of a law that permits – in certain cases – the confiscation of agricultural lands for economic purposes. On the other hand, successive political positions since the era of Nelson Mandela show that South Africa is gradually moving towards adopting more independent policies than the West, and strengthening its position within the corresponding camp.

South African President Cyril Ramafuza did not miss any opportunity to refute the allegations promoted by Elon Musk, which was later repeated by US President Donald Trump, even during their last meeting at the White House, where Trump insisted on showing a video that supports the American narrative on “persecution of eggs” in South Africa. The video included footage of Julius Malima, the South African leftist politician, chanting chants from the era of apartheid against the whites.

In a forum held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Ramafuza commented on the announcement of the United States to open the door to immigration to the white Africans on the pretext of being persecuted, and pledged to end their resorting procedures within only three months – these measures that usually take up to three years – saying: “This does not apply to them, they do not meet the refugee,” adding: “The refugee is the one who escapes from his country for fear Or religious. “

The follow -up of the events in South Africa reveals that the period between April 2020 and 2024 witnessed the killing of 225 people on farms, according to South African police data, among them only 53 white farmers. Nevertheless, the United States continues to inflate the incidents of targeting eggs in particular, which raises a question: Why is this American focus on this file specifically?

In fact, there is another aspect related to the rise of South Africa on the international scene; It is ranked within the emerging economies, and joined the G20, which represents about 85% of the global economy, although its contribution does not exceed 0.6% of the group’s gross domestic product. The most significant is that this year South Africa is preparing to host the G20 summit, which enhances its international position.

But the importance is not only in this international presence, but that such summits contribute to awakening the African collective awareness of the value of wealth and the geopolitical location of the continent, which raises the concern of the United States and its companies seeking to tighten its control over the joints of the global economy.

South Africa and Russia

South Africa has repeatedly expressed its solidarity with Russia since its conquest of Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit of the “Brex” group hosted by South Africa in 2023, justifying his absence that his participation may spoil the summit. Accordingly, his upcoming attendance is excluded from the upcoming Group of Group in South Africa.

But the most prominent challenge facing the host country does not relate to Russia, but rather is to ensure the presence of US President Donald Trump, as his participation will be a great political gain, enhance the chances of success of the summit, and to consolidate relations between South Africa and the United States.

The economy speaks

US President Donald Trump threatened to impose customs duties of 100% on the countries of the “Brex” group, in response to the calls of some of its members to create an alternative backup currency for the dollar. These threats come in light of the positions of South Africa themselves, which call for the abolition of “dollar” and the promotion of trade in national currencies. American anxiety is aggravated by the growing South African relations with the “Brexes” partners, especially China, Russia, and Iran, which included in some of its stages joint military exercises.

When adding the position of South Africa on the war on Gaza, which is to file a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide, the multiplicity of tension points between Pretoria and Washington is clear. This tension explains the reason for the weakness of South Africa’s popularity within the Republican circles in the US Congress, where since February 2024 – a proposal to reassess bilateral relations with South Africa.

South Africa power

South Africa has a strategic power source represented in its rare minerals, such as manganese, platinum, and reidium, which constituted about $ 6.4 billion of its total commodity exports to the United States, representing 7.4% of Washington’s imports of primary commodities in 2022. From this standpoint, the two parties realize the importance of these exports and their role in the bilateral relationship.

In this context, President Cyril Ramafuza sought during his recent visit to the United States – the second largest commercial partner of his country – to obtain reassurances about the future of economic relations, especially in light of threats to impose high customs definitions, which may exacerbate the burdens on the economy of South Africa, which is originally suffering from high unemployment rates and slowdown in growth.

Elon Musk

In the midst of these developments, Elon Musk has emerged as a “chances of opportunities”, as he was quick to push his company “Starlink” specializing in the broadcast of the Internet via satellites towards negotiating with the South African government to provide its services in the country. However, this trend collided with a local law that requires a proportion of the shares of the local company affiliated with “Starlink” to black citizens, as part of an economic empowerment policy aimed at correcting historical disparities. This condition was met with the rejection of a mask and a number of American investors.

But the government of South Africa has provided a practical alternative to “Equivalent Investment Programme”, which allows foreign companies to contribute to development investments in disadvantaged areas instead of waiving their shares. This model has been successfully applied in the auto sector inside the country, indicating that the road has become paved against Musk to invest in the South African market.

The question remains: Does this step be the beginning of a positive development in the relations between South Africa and the United States before the G20 summit at the end of this year?