The Economic Freedom Fighters have slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa for phoning SA-born billionaire and now US civil servant Elon Musk to clarify the Expropriation Act which the businessman has allegedly claimed and convinced President Donald Trump is being used to force white people off their land.
The EFF said there was no need for Ramaphosa to assure Musk of anything and warns the move set up South Africa for state capture and sets an embarrassing precedent.
The EFF believes Musk’s concerns about South Africa are based on prejudice and a desire to advance his own commercial interests in the country of his birth by any means including undermining its laws as well as transformation agenda.
“It is an objective fact that Elon Musk’s interference with U.S foreign policy as it relates to South Africa is rooted not only in his racist and white supremacist attitudes but is also based on his interests as a businessman to introduce his satellite company Starlink in South Africa. Musk is in a pursuit to introduce Starlink in South Africa and in doing so, seeks to circumvent existing legislation that prescribes that for licensing to be granted by the Independent Communications South African Authority (ICASA) to operate in South Africa’s satellite sector, at least 30% of the foreign owned satellite company must be owned by historically disadvantaged groups in line with the country’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy,” said the red berets in a statement.
The presidency said the call to Musk was justified given the Afriforum misinformation about land grabs and white genocide in South Africa that Musk has amplified through mainstream media and his own platform X which has billions of users.
“It was important that they have that conversation… considering his influence within the (Donald) Trump circle,” said presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
The EFF also argued the call undermined established diplomatic channels. Following Trump’s election, Musk swiftly arranged that he have a call with Ramaphosa and the red berets believes he’s exploiting his proximity to the US President for his own benefit.
“This breaking of diplomatic protocol should never be taken lightly by the citizens, as it is a clear indication of how sovereignty of our country is compromised at the behest of pandering for U.S foreign aid; and a reflection of how Ramaphosa is willing to embarrass the country to the world as a result of a dependency syndrome,” said the EFF.
Magwenya insisted there was nothing wrong with the phone call as Ramaphosa and Musk are on a first name basis.
“Elon Musk has President Cyril Ramaphosa’s number and vice versa so how the call was facilitated is neither here nor there, because both of them can reach out to each other whenever they feel it’s necessary to do so,” said Magwenya.
It is not clear if Trump will listen to the South African government as Afri-Forum is continuing with its misinformation campaign even after it has been proven beyond any doubt that it is manufactured.