Last week, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to withdraw all government aid to South Africa, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared he would not attend the G20 summit in the country, citing these controversial claims of white victimisation.
Image: Jim Watson/AFP
More than 300 white South African Christian leaders have signed a statement rejecting claims by the United States of America of victimisation, violence and hateful rhetoric against white people in South Africa along with the Expropriation Act.
"As white South Africans in active leadership within the Christian community, representing diverse political and theological perspectives, we unanimously reject these claims," a statement from the White South African Christian Leaders read.
"We make this statement as white South Africans because these claims are being made about us and our experience in this place."
Last week, Donald Trump the President of the United States of America issued an executive order withdrawing all US government aid to South Africa while the Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced his refusal to attend the G20 summit in South Africa due to the reasons stated above.
"The narrative presented by the US government is founded on fabrications, distortions, and outright lies. It does not reflect the reality of our country and, if anything, serves to heighten existing tensions in South Africa," the Christian leaders said.
"It also detracts from the important work of building safer, healthier communities and addressing the complex history of land dispossession by white Europeans from the black African majority."
The statement said that South Africa has failed to address the racial injustices of apartheid as well as colonialism and while the reasons for this are complex, one of the factors is the resistance by white South Africans to initiatives that look to address the economic and land ownership ramifications of these systems of racial oppression.
"The resultant tensions thereof are now being weaponised for cheap political points in the US. Similarly, there are South African leaders, especially within the white community, who are using the deplorable actions and statements of the President of the United States of America and his supporters to serve the narrow needs of their local constituencies," the statement read.
"We call on our fellow South Africans to reconsider this dangerous political strategy and to rather give their energy towards working for a more just future in South Africa."
The organisation has lamented the fact that SA continues to be a country with extremely high levels of violence which have impacted many, if not most of us, personally.
While South Africans have been touched by violence, the narrative of disproportionate violence aimed at white South Africans that President Trump is attempting to push invalidates the reality that black South Africans continue to be subject to the worst excesses of violence and oppression.
The statement said: "Whilst we have serious concerns about the political nature of foreign aid into our country and continent, the sudden and immediate withdrawal of aid, particularly aid which supports our health systems, promises devastation for our communities."
In particular, the support being withdrawn from SA disproportionately impacts the HIV community who rely on antiretroviral medication as the country has a large number of people who are HIV+, and for whom access to medication is a matter of life or death.
Dr Reneva Fourie a policy analyst and author of the book said that while foreign influence on domestic policy, in general, has always existed, the threat to SA's policy sovereignty has never been as pronounced as it is today.
Fourie said that the as part of an increasingly interconnected global community, it is vital to assess the extent to which outside factors contribute to the challenges facing SA.
"Likewise, the development challenges stemming from the economy’s underlying structure, coupled with the persistent influence of patriarchal systems, have not been adequately examined. This intricate relationship warrants a deeper analysis, as the economic framework significantly shapes power dynamics and resource distribution, often perpetuating inequalities," Fourie said.
Furthermore, the entrenched nature of patriarchal norms continues to hinder progress, affecting not only women’s participation in the economy but also in critical decision-making spaces. Understanding these impediments is essential for formulating more effective development strategies that promote equity and inclusive growth.
Professor Eddy Maloka in the book ‘The Case for the Second Republic: South Africa’s Second Chance’.advocates for a comprehensive re-evaluation of our entire governance structure, encompassing aspects such as reviewing proportional representation and provincial systems and potentially crafting a new constitution.
"The book also provides a series of more conventional recommendations to reverse our state of regression, which I strongly encourage everyone to read and internalise, in line with his argument that communities must be at the centre of effecting change," Fourie said.
"The recommendations are both feasible and attainable. Their significance is paramount if we are genuinely committed to restoring our country to a trajectory of prosperity and must be considered at the impending National Dialogue."
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