ANC Playing With Fire

If the ANC refuses to change course, sanctions may be inevitable.

Source: Generated by ChatGPT

The African National Congress (ANC), Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), and the South African government as a whole do not seem to be taking the threat of United States sanctions seriously.

This is despite 30% tariffs already resulting in tremendous volatility in the economy. Upwards of 100,000 jobs are at risk, especially affecting our agricultural and automotive industries. Tariffs only kicked in August 2025, so at the time of writing the full extent of economic damage is yet to occur. But it should be sufficient to say that high tariffs cannot be good for South Africa.

Reduced competitiveness in the world’s most lucrative consumer economy will only serve to slow down our economic growth and export markets.

Add to already imposed tariffs the possibility that South Africa may be hit by sanctions, including being kicked out of the SWIFT payment system, a move that will effectively isolate us from global finance – as we do not have the energy wealth or institutional power that Russia has used to stave off the worst of its sanctions up until this point.

South Africa is on a knife’s-edge and risks permanently souring relations with the world’s most powerful country. And for little good reason.

Now, just to add insult to injury, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will be participating in wargames with China and Russia during the G20 summit. The timing, and the fact that we are still participating in military exercises with cold war enemies of the United States (US), sends a clear signal to the US that we do not care about repairing relations.

Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa met with President Donald Trump alongside a cohort of influential South Africans. Behind the scenes, the US told Ramaphosa that we could avoid tariff hikes if we only implemented four demands.

Rather than being an assault on our sovereignty, these demands were quite reasonable and would have benefited us far more than the US. The demands were to (1) Treat farm attacks as a priority crime, (2) Condemn “Kill the Boer” as the hate speech that it is, (3) Abolish Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC), (4) Exempt US firms from Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).

Except for the 4^th, which should include all firms, these requirements only serve South Africa’s interests and would bring our society more in line with our own constitution and the values purported by Mandela in 1994.

But the South African government kept these requirements hidden. We had to find out about them from foreign media.

The government twiddled its thumbs while economic ruin approached. Not only was the government envoy to the US barred from entering and nothing was done about it, but opposition members who attempted to expose this apathy and incompetence were punished.

Emma Powell was forced to resign after exposing the incompetence of the government, and Andrew Whitfield was fired from cabinet after travelling to the US to try mend relations. His dismissal, I might add, was because Ramaphosa ignored his requests for permission, and decided months later to dismiss Whitfield – while allowing many corrupt officials to keep their positions.

General Rudzani Maphwanya, Chief of the SANDF, expressed support for Iran against the United States, and despite some lip-service condemnation by the government, still holds his position in the armed forces.

Ex-Minister of DIRCO, Naledi Pandor, has used her position to call for “jihad when necessary”. DIRCO as a whole seems to have been spending more time fighting for radical Islam than for the national interests of South Africa.

The West and the US are not bullies. They aren’t our enemy. They are trade partners and potential role models. They present a far better model of governance and society than the friends we’re currently choosing in China, Iran and Russia.

It is clear that the South African government is not concerned with a rational foreign policy that prioritises the needs of its citizens. There is a rift between the views of its people and the view of the elites. Unfortunately, it will be normal South Africans on the ground who suffer due to the Cold War nostalgia that the ANC still holds as national policy.

South Africa’s prosperity depends on openness, trade, and the rule of law. By clinging to failed ideologies and alienating our largest export partner, the ANC is condemning millions of South Africans to poverty for the sake of Cold War theatre. The reforms requested by the United States, respecting property rights, ending racially divisive regulations, and confronting hate speech, are not humiliations imposed from abroad, but measures fully consistent with our Constitution and Mandela’s original vision for a free and prosperous South Africa.

If the ANC refuses to change course, sanctions may be inevitable. Let us hope that if US sanctions do hit, they only target corrupt ANC officials, and that South African citizens are not left to bear the brunt of our ideologically corrupt government’s foolish policies. Only by realigning with the principles of free markets, constitutionalism, and international cooperation can South Africa restore credibility abroad and prosperity at home.

Nicholas Woode-Smith is the Managing Editor of the Rational Standard. He is a senior associate of the Free Market Foundation and writes in his personal capacity.