Chief executive of lobby group AfriForum, Kallie Kriel, has hit back at President Cyril Ramaphosa after the president expressed deep concern over the actions of AfriForum and Solidarity, stating that their campaign to disseminate disinformation about the country in the United States is nothing short of unpatriotic.
IOL reported that Ramaphosa on Tuesday said he was concerned and disappointed with AfriForum and Solidarity, with both organisations having sent high-level representatives to meet with US government officials.
“I regard that as being non-patriotic because when you are a patriot of a country, the best you do is resolve problems or issues you have in country rather than beginning to damage the sovereignty of your country by running to other countries and expecting them to take action against your own country,” Ramaphosa said when responding to oral questions in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
He blamed AfriForum and Solidarity, saying what they had done had instigated the actions now being taken against the people of South Africa.
Ramaphosa's response came shortly after United States President Donald Trump signed executive orders to terminate the President’s Emergency Plan for Aid Relief (Pepfar).
In a lengthy response posted on X, AfriForum's chief executive said the president was being disingenuous.
“President Ramaphosa’s accusations against AfriForum and Solidarity in Parliament are invalid, as he himself is responsible for the breach of trust that has occurred,” said Kriel.
“It was President Ramaphosa who signed the BELA Act – which targets Afrikaans schools and consequently threatens the survival of Afrikaans cultural communities. Did he really think we would meekly accept this act of aggression against us?”
Kriel added that leaders of the African National Congress have been unpatriotic.
“Under his leadership, ANC leaders have acted unpatriotically and disloyally toward the people of the country through mismanagement and corruption. He has also placed the country in the line of fire by, among other things, signing the Expropriation Act, which will drive away investors and lead to increasing poverty,” said Kriel.
“Furthermore, Ramaphosa is dishonest when he claims that local solutions could have been found for these disputes, as he blatantly ignored AfriForum’s letter to him in April 2024 regarding the dangers of the expropriation law.
“He also treated us with contempt by disregarding the BELA agreement made at Nedlac with Solidarity and falsely pretending that he had never given a mandate for negotiations,” he said.
Earlier this month, IOL reported that fresh calls were being made for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the right wing Afrikaner groups AfriForum and Solidarity Movement following their frequent trips to the US.
The uMkhonto weSizwe party led by former president Jacob Zuma, among other groups and individuals, has opened cases of treason against AfriForum, and are demanding that action be taken against the civic organisation.
IOL