The government, opposition parties and top business leaders are scrambling for a quick resolution to the breakdown in relations with Washington following a week of high drama.
The Sunday Times understands that several proposals were made to the government this week in a series of meetings to discuss the crisis.
They include making compromises in response to demands that have been made by the US and its close ally, Israel.
US President Donald Trump, in an executive order signed on Friday, cited the Expropriation Act, South Africa’s genocide case against Israel and its close ties with Iran as among the reasons he was halting all aid and assistance.
Some in the government believe that the move is designed to force South Africa to:
- withdraw its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice;
- reverse its decision on the Taiwanese liaison office;
- reconsider its relationship with Iran;
- reconsider its role in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); and
- allow Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to operate in the country without having to comply with BEE laws.
The Sunday Times has learnt that President Cyril Ramaphosa will send envoys to Washington in an attempt to persuade Trump to reconsider. Business leaders are also expected to meet their US counterparts — especially those with links to Musk, who has emerged as one of the most powerful people in Washington.
Well-placed officials indicated that a meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow to devise a strategy before the high-powered government delegation leaves for Washington.
It has also been established that the DA, which is part of the government of national unity, will send its own delegation to engage US decisionmakers on the diplomatic standoff that has serious implications for the South African economy.
In the past 12 months the DA has sent at least three delegations to the US as relations between Pretoria and Washington deteriorated amid threats to kick South Africa out of the Africa Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) over its close ties with Iran, China and Russia and its stance on Israel.
There are fears in the government and the business community that sustained hostility from the Trump administration could see the JSE and the rand tank and send the economy into a tailspin.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said yesterday the government would engage the Trump administration without allowing itself to be be bullied.
It is now abundantly clear that the issues in dispute are no longer confined to the signing of the Expropriation Act.
— Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson
“It is now abundantly clear that the issues in dispute are no longer confined to the signing of the Expropriation Act,” he said.
“Other issues have since emerged. Our stance against the genocidal state of Israel and subsequent action taken at the ICJ, our G20 theme of equality, solidarity and sustainability, seem to have angered some in Washington.”
Secretary of state Marco Rubio announced this week he was boycotting the G20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa later this month because the agenda flew in the face of Trump’s rejection of “diversity, equity and inclusion”.
“The imminent relocation of the Taiwanese liaison office has also been flagged. All of these issues have also been laced with complete lies and distortions about our country,” said Magwenya.
The South African government has asked the liaison office to move out of the capital. Taiwan is also an ally of the US.
“The G20 theme, for example, reflects both who we are as a country as well as our aspirations for our continent Africa, the Global South and the world as a whole,” Magwenya said.
“The G20 is not only South Africa’s G20, it’s for all participating member states and the world at large. We will ensure its success and trust that all members will work together with us to deliver a successful and long-lasting, impactful G20.”
Magwenya said South Africa was an independent, sovereign constitutional democracy that had adopted policies in line with its founding values and constitution.
“Even in the face of disagreements, they must be at the very least be respected as such.
“As the president stated during his state of the nation address, we are not going to be deterred or bullied. We are also not going to lose focus from what we have to do and achieve as a country.”
The Sunday Times understands that some are urging the government to be willing to compromise, particularly on Israel. The suggestion is that South Africa agree to lower the volume on its criticism of the Jewish state, but senior government officials believe only a withdrawal of the case in The Hague would satisfy Israel and the US.
With respect to Starlink, the government is believed to be exploring alternatives to the requirement that it give a 30% stake to a BEE partner.
Senior government insiders said appeasing Musk might mean compromising “on certain key fundamentals and principles; legal, legislative, some may even touch on the character of who we are as a nation”.
Starlink, which is owned by Musk’s SpaceX, has been the subject of discussions between Ramaphosa and Musk, who met in September last year at the UN and spoke on the phone this week.
The government insiders believe Musk is using his influence and close ties with Trump to force South Africa’s hand on the issue. They said Musk’s powerful position helped to explain why South Africa had been in Trump’s crosshairs since he began his second term.
One government official said attempts so far to explain South African policy and clear away misconceptions — as the president tried to do in his phone call with Musk — had not worked and it was time to negotiate compromises.
That deal of [Musk’s] that has collapsed because of the BEE component ... is one of the biggest triggers for him.
— Source
The official said Trump and Musk were transactional businessmen who saw issues in terms of deals to be negotiated.
“That deal of [Musk’s] that has collapsed because of the BEE component ... is one of the biggest triggers for him,” said the source.
“Until South Africa relents and allows him to bring Starlink here without satisfying the BEE component, he’s determined to show us who’s boss. And that means using Trump to hit us daily with nonsense based on things that he knows for a fact are not happening here.”
A cabinet minister who asked not to be identified agreed with this view.
“Elon would do anything to exert political pressure to get Starlink in South Africa while maintaining his current ownership structure,” the minister said. “He has become emboldened since Trump came into office because of his proximity to Trump.”
In a tweet this week, Musk asked the Presidency: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”
Starlink this week withdrew from Icasa regulatory hearings, which are being held to get industry feedback on its proposed satellite services licensing framework.
SpaceX previously submitted written submissions but this week refused to participate in the oral submissions.
One of the possible compromises apparently being floated is that Starlink, instead of giving away a 30% BEE stake, commits to local manufacture of its equipment, using locally sourced products.
The cabinet minister said a trade-off could involve a requirement that Starlink provide free internet connections at thousands of schools across the country.
“Icasa can impose as many conditions as it wants to make up for circumventing the 30% local ownership element,” said the minister.
“Icasa can say, ‘connect 20,000 schools to the internet, connect this number of police stations, hospitals’, and all of that. It can say ‘train so many young people, appoint so many young women, youth, people with disabilities in business’.”
Regarding the Taiwan issue, South Africa has reportedly given Taipei a deadline of the end of March to move its de facto embassy out of Pretoria.
The Taiwanese foreign ministry blames Chinese pressure for the move. South Africa severed official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1997. China regards the island as part of its territory with no claim to be recognised as a country in its own right.
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