AfSA STATEMENT ON US VISA RESTRICTIONS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICANS
A serious escalation
The new US visa restrictions escalate a dispute that has moved from criticism and aid cuts to now targeting individuals. The American embassy in South Africa issued the needlessly belligerent warning that the new directive is "the first step in a series of escalatory measures". This amounts to pressure to change South Africa's laws, court outcomes, and foreign policy.
Some Afrikaner organisations have applauded the directive, but they don't speak for all Afrikaners – and on social media their stance has fuelled hostility toward the whole Afrikaner community. The actions of a few should not stigmatise an entire group.
Our courts decide – not foreign governments
South Africa is a constitutional democracy with an independent judiciary. The "Kill the Boer" chant is inflammatory and harmful to reconciliation. But our courts found it to be protected political expression rather than incitement – a conclusion the Constitutional Court left undisturbed. The ANC has banned the song at its own gatherings, but President Cyril Ramaphosa cannot overturn a judicial ruling just because a foreign president demands it.
The Expropriation Act permits nil compensation only in narrow, just-and-equitable circumstances, with full recourse to the courts, and it's being challenged judicially right now. Constitutional disputes belong in court, not in foreign executive orders.
Race-based laws – a debate for South Africans
BEE’s effectiveness and vulnerability to abuse and elite enrichment must be debated. But it is constitutionally permitted and intended to address apartheid’s continuing economic consequences. That debate belongs to South Africans.
There's no credible evidence South Africa has more race-based laws than any other country. The oft-cited index counts any law where race is legally relevant, regardless of purpose, including defunct pre-1994 statutes. Equating remedial measures with apartheid-era domination laws is misleading.
Farm violence is part of a national crisis
Attacks on farmers and rural communities are horrific, leaving families with grief and trauma that must never be dismissed. Victims deserve compassion and justice.
But their pain shouldn't be exploited to push an unsupported narrative of state-sponsored racial persecution. Violence touches every community – its heaviest burden falls on poor, predominantly black areas where murder, robbery and gang violence are daily realities. Recognising the broader crisis does not minimise the horror of farm attacks; it places them within South Africa’s wider failure to protect its people, rather than a racially targeted campaign.
Foreign-policy double standards
Washington invokes property rights in South Africa while backing Israel despite documented displacement and seizure of Palestinian property. It demands distance from Iran while courting its own rivals when convenient. Non-alignment is not obedience.
Engagement, not submission
South Africa should stay open to engagement with the US. But our laws are tested in our courts, our disputes resolved democratically, and our foreign policy is set by South Africans – not by foreign governments.
You guys like to criminalise black politicians. Alan Winde went to New York and refused to tell you who paid and what was the cost. You’re all acting Stevie Wonder about that. You are all DA postmen.
🏆 Referee announced for 2026 #SuperCup!
We're pleased to share that Somali referee Omar Artan will officiate the highly anticipated match between PSG and Aston Villa in Salzburg.
Now imagine if in 1910, 1948 the state said to the poor Afrikaners, sort yourselves and not rely on the state. The poor Afrikaner problem wouldn’t have been solved. Or if the English who ran the economy opposed the state at every turn. No need to be timid.
“Recruiters have recorded an increase in enquiries from South Africans wanting to leave the US, and 12,000 people around the world have registered to reclaim their citizenship on a portal launched by the South African government…”
https://t.co/Yw55iB66RS
[EXPLAINER] Young professionals are increasingly leaving Cape Town for Johannesburg in a trend experts call “reverse semigration,” driven by high living costs in the coastal city. Johannesburg offers not only higher salaries, particularly in tech and finance, but also more affordable housing and lifestyle conveniences that appeal to young urbanites.
As new mixed-use developments and vibrant suburbs emerge, professionals are prioritising financial flexibility alongside community and culture.
CNBC Africa's @Retha_Jae reports.
#CNBCAfrica #SouthAfrica #ReverseSemigration #UrbanShift
France condemns the visa restriction measures taken by the United States against Thierry Breton and four other European figures.
These measures amount to intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.
The European Union’s digital regulations were adopted following a democratic and sovereign process by the European Parliament and the Council.
They apply within Europe to ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country, and to ensure that what is illegal offline is also illegal online.
The rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.
Together with the European Commission and our European partners, we will continue to defend our digital sovereignty and our regulatory autonomy.
DA should get off its high horse & beg Ramaphosa to keep it in GNU. It clearly can't leave. If it leaves, that would be the last time it tasted state power. It lacks material electoral support & doesn't appear to be improving. It needs the GNU more than it's willing to admit.
If Trump's tarrif rollout does not act as a catalyst for the full operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement then nothing will.