Khumbudzo Ntshavheni takes us through what really went on at the meeting of Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump at the Oval Office
During President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent working visit to the USA on the invitation of President Donald Trump, AfriForum had definitely wished for a different treatment of our President or at the very least a different outcome of the meeting. However, wishes are not horses or else beggars would be riding.
On diplomatic courtesies accorded to President Ramaphosa
I have been part of a few delegations that have accompanied President Ramaphosa to the US. I must indicate this working visit is one of those where better diplomatic courtesies were accorded to our President. As pointed out during the Post-Cabinet media briefing, President Ramaphosa was a guest and the treatment accorded him was that of a valued guest.
An acknowledgment of South Africa as an important player in geopolitics
President Ramaphosa is the first African Head of State to be invited to the White House in this second term of the Trump administration. It is not only the significance of the invitation that matters, it is the issues the two leaders discussed beyond South Africa’s domestic issues. We should recall that during President Zelensky’s working visit to SA, the two Presidents compared notes on their approaches towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict. During the media session at the Oval Office, President Trump took the opportunity to update President Ramaphosa on the progress on his Russia/Ukraine conflict resolution initiative, and President Ramaphosa emphasised the role SA continues to play in seeking a negotiated settlement to that conflict. It must be remembered that during President Zelensky’s working visit to SA, the two Presidents telephonically compared notes on their approaches to ending that war. President Trump also updated President Ramaphosa on the US efforts to settle the DRC/Rwanda conflict. In diplomatic terms, this is another acknowledgment that any peace initiatives in Africa cannot exclude SA. Equally, President Ramaphosa updated him on the confidence building measures as driven by SADC and EAC towards a negotiated peace in the eastern DRC.
Decorum of the Engagements
Both the Oval Office and luncheon discussions were cordial and respectful. There were no signs of the impatience the world had witnessed in other visits. Even during the media interactions there was no butting-in from our US counterparts but everyone spoke when invited to do so. Whereas President Ramaphosa was allowed space to make his points without any rude interruptions. Conspicuously, President Trump was not on babysitting duty of his favourite grandkids. I must confess though the he just loves children. Minister Steenhuisen benefitted a copy of baby John-John’s photo hiding in The Resolute Desk whilst his father President JFK worked in the Oval Office.
The revealing Q&A with the media
The most significant revelation that President Trump suspected he was fed a dummy by AfriForum came during the Q&A. When one journalist sought to put SA on the spot about the ICJ case, it was President Trump who clearly responded that he has no expectations on South Africa as the court must adjudicate the matter. When asked if he has made up his mind about white genocide in South Africa, he was equally clear that he had not made up his mind but needs explanations.
On the videos shown
Of course all South Africans know that those videos of chanting historic struggle songs are dated and that AfriForum supported by the DA lost a Concourt case to ban that slogan. But the most amusing of the lies fed to President Trump is the claim that Malema and Zuma are part of present day government of SA. President Ramaphosa was on hand to explain how the SA Constitution and parliamentary system work. He also emphasised the Freedom Charter as adopted by the ANC in 1955 envisaged a SA that belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that these are some of the ideals we continue to be guided by in our governance. Of course Minister John Steenhuisen was on hand to explain why the DA chose to join the GNU, albeit in true political style. The final nails to the AfriForum misinformation were hammered in by Mr Johan Rupert and Ms Zingiswa Losi of COSATU. Mr Rupert, supported by police crime statistics and his lived experience, confirmed the highest crime area in South Africa is the Cape Flats were the DA governs and not farm murders and also blamed former President Zuma for stopping the deployment of technology by business to fight crime. Ms Losi explained the horrors experienced by women and children in the rural areas of South Africa who are victims of crime. President Ramaphosa, in his wrap-up on this matter, emphasised that SA has a crime problem which our security cluster is more than doubling their efforts to address for the safety of all South Africans. On the memorial crosses that were beamed, News24 has already factchecked this but the lack of gadgets at that session disabled me to relay the location and context of the memorial crosses to the President as the SSA were conveying the same to me during the show. Should the SSA have anticipated that display, given that Elon Musk tweeted about it on 14th May, most definitely, and it is an area that the SSA must never fail the President on again. On the alleged forensic pathologists clearing a murder scene, all South Africans know the uniform of our forensic pathologists but importantly those were images of incidents in Goma in the DRC. The full footage of that video has been relayed to the team in the White House.
On the G20
When asked if President Trump will come to SA for the G20, President Ramaphosa set the tone by explaining that the G20 and G7 platforms were initiated by the US with others and that SA must handover the G20 Presidency to the US. President Trump was very clear that there can never be a G20 without the US. So should we prepare for President Trump in SA for the G20? Most definitely, at a minimum he has committed to a round of golf with President Ramaphosa and his favourite SA golfers.
Do we have The Deal?
The final details of the deal will be concluded by our joint teams, however the broad strokes as communicated by Minister Tau are:
- SA is a crucial supplier of critical materials to many US supply-chains. Both countries will collaborate on investment in critical minerals, recognising SA’s developed processing capabilities to promote value-added trade. This includes the establishment of a Joint Fund for exploration.
- SA will import 75 to 100 PJ (petajoules) of LNG gas from the US per annum for 10 years which will unlock approximately $900 million to $1.2 billion in trade per annum and $9 billion to $12 billion for ten years based on applicable price. This will be complemented with US investment in gas infrastructure development in SA including on cooperation in key technologies such as fracking technology to unlock production of gas in SA. This arrangement will not replace our current suppliers of gas but complement those supplies.
- A duty-free quota of 40 000 vehicles per annum for the autos sector and duty-free access for automotive components sourced from SA for automotive production in the US.
- A duty-free quota of 385 million kg of steel per annum and of 132 million kg of aluminium per annum.
So what difficulties does the SA government foresee?
The next round of AGOA negotiations are going to be very tough and if AGOA is canned or 32 participating African countries get less favourable terms, the biggest losers will be white farmers and such will be courtesy of AfriForum.
Around that dinner table, President Ramaphosa’s message was not just about SA but SACU, SADC, and the AfCFTA. As the largest economy in the African continent, we understand our responsibilities and that our development is intricately linked to the development of SADC and the entire African continent.
On a lighter note, I learnt more about golf at that dinner table than the years that I boasted a 15-handicap.
I also witnessed sports diplomacy at play. But most of all, the reset of SA-US relations opens an opportunity to advance the SA-US economic development agenda in a manner that is mutually beneficial.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is the Minister in The Presidency and Spokesperson of Cabinet.
