Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

S-African leader receives backing from opponent before of Trump discussions


(MENAFN) Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has voiced support for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s upcoming talks with US President Donald Trump, emphasizing that the meeting will provide an opportunity to clarify misconceptions about South Africa. Steenhuisen stated that this was a chance to counter the false image painted by some groups, stressing that claims of mass land expropriation or genocide in South Africa are untrue.

“There’s no mass expropriation of land, and no genocide is taking place,” Steenhuisen asserted, expressing his satisfaction that the two presidents had engaged in discussions. He made these comments during an interview on Thursday, as he attended an official visit by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Ramaphosa revealed that he had agreed to meet with Trump soon to address issues affecting US-South Africa relations and to improve bilateral ties. The conversation between the two leaders also touched upon the importance of fostering good relations between their nations.

Trump had previously made strong remarks about South Africa, accusing the country of undergoing severe turmoil, after AfriForum and the Solidarity movement misled his administration by falsely claiming that white South Africans were being targeted by the government. These claims have been dismissed by the South African government as false and misleading.

In response, Trump halted aid to South Africa and imposed a 30% tariff on the country. He had also proposed offering refugee status to Afrikaners due to fears of land expropriation, but AfriForum rejected the offer, citing the financial burden of leaving their country.

Steenhuisen urged South African citizens to approach the next 90 days with caution, advising that they use this period wisely to avoid the potential tariff increase.

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