South Africa’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has threatened to withhold vital minerals from the United States, following recent remarks made by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at the opening of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Monday, Mantashe said Africa should assert its powerful position as a major global producer of minerals, and take advantage of rising global demand to unlock benefits to create a better life for its people.
His remarks were in response to Trump’s statement that the South African government is “confiscating land” and ill-treating “certain classes of people”.
"I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed," said Trump.
However, South Africa does not receive funding from the US, except the 17% of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), according to the presidency.
Mantashe maintained that Africa should not be dictated to by industrialised nations.
“Africa is the world’s richest mining jurisdiction. We should internalise that and use it to our advantage. We have something that the world wants. We are not beggars. We must use that endowment for our own benefit as a continent.”
“They want to withhold funding, but they still want our minerals. Let’s withhold minerals. Africa needs to assert its advantage and take charge of the growing demand.”
Mantashe also announced that South Africa is developing its own Critical Minerals List and one of these will be coal.
This move defies the global movement to decarbonise the industrial footprint and the Paris Climate accord of which South Africa is party to.
Talking about the Critical Minerals List, he said “King Coal is here” and coal would be included in the list, as the coal sector was the second biggest employer in mining.
International relations expert Dr Kingsley Makhubela echoed Mantashe’s sentiment that it was time for South Africa to develop self reliance and better utilisation of its resources.
“President Trump’s withholding of aid to South Africa comes as no surprise that he signed a presidential decree that puts a moratorium on all developmental aids except for Israel and Egypt. Specific reference to South Africa following the signing of the property expropriation bill by President Ramaphosa is a sign of more to come. A 50% tariff on BRICS plus member states is probably on the way to his office and the AGOA renewal would also face a steep hill,” he said.
International relations expert and director of a management consultancy, Surgetower Associates, Siseko Maposa, said beyond the controversy surrounding Trump's ignorant remarks on the Expropriation Act, a more profound reality is unfolding – the decline of US hegemony in a rapidly shifting, multipolar global economy.
“The USA remains one of South Africa's key export markets, and indeed the strain on diplomatic ties, coupled with looming threats of Trump tariffs, is undoubtedly a cause for concern for Pretoria. Trump’s remarks must be understood through this lens and by considering South Africa's strategic positioning within this emerging order. Through its participation in BRICS+ and bilateral cooperation with China, Russia, and Iran, South Africa has undoubtedly rattled Washington. At the same time, the US is showing signs of decline with significant economic challenges including a swelling national debt, rising inflation and decreased technological dominance. As global power dynamics continue to shift, the US, under Trump's erratic leadership, is likely to respond in disingenuous ways, as evident in this instance. One thing is clear, however, the US's ability to dictate South Africa's domestic and foreign policy is rapidly diminishing,” Maposa.
Weighing in on the matter, the ANC blamed lobby group AfriForum for what it described as the misinformation campaign orchestrated which was now being exemplified by Trump.
“AfriForum has long positioned itself as a defender of white minority privilege, using fearmongering to undermine South Africa’s constitutional and lawful land reform programme. Their campaign is not about justice but about blocking economic transformation and maintaining an oppressive status quo. AfriForum’s lobbying efforts in the US and other countries have deliberately misrepresented South Africa’s Expropriation Act, which is a fair, constitutional mechanism aimed at reversing historical land dispossession. By weaponizing misinformation, they have emboldened some, who have no understanding of South Africa’s democratic processes but are quick to perpetuate racist narratives.”
In a statement, AfriForum said it is to write to the US government requesting that the punitive measures that Trump intends to introduce target senior ANC leaders directly and not South Africa’s residents.
“AfriForum is also going to make an urgent request to the South African government to, in an attempt to avert this crisis, table an amendment to the Expropriation Act that will ensure the protection of property rights in South Africa.”
Cape Times