Dirty linen, global stakes: Redi Tlhabi on the media's failure in US–SA coverage
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IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
South African citrus industry calls for Ramaphosa's intervention amid looming US tariff hike
The Citrus Growers' Association has appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in critical trade negotiations with the US, as a steep tariff hike threatens the livelihoods of South African citrus growers and rural economies. Image: Independent Newspapers Archives The Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has issued an urgent appeal to President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in trade negotiations with the United States ahead of the 1 August deadline, when a steep tariff hike on South African citrus is set to take effect. From Friday, US import duties on South African citrus will increase from 10% to 30%, a move the CGA warns will have severe consequences for rural economies in the Northern and Western Cape provinces, which export approximately seven million cartons of citrus annually to the US market. 'This week, with the tariff deadline on Friday, is one of great anxiety for the citrus growers in the Western and Northern Cape,' said CGA CEO, Dr Boitshoko Ntshabele. 'Should we not be able to secure a favourable trade deal, or the concession for fresh produce, local job losses before the next season will be a certainty.' In a letter to the President, the CGA requested that the government urgently secure either a general extension of the current tariff or a specific exemption for seasonal fresh produce, citing the perishable nature of citrus and the economic impact of fruit left unsold mid-season. Dr Ntshabele stressed that South African citrus exports do not compete with American growers, as they supply fruit during the US off-season. 'Citrus, as a source of nutrition, also helps to keep Americans healthy,' he added. CGA Chairperson Gerrit van der Merwe, a grower based in Citrusdal, warned that a 30% tariff would damage the economic backbone of his community. 'Citrus forms the economic heart of the area. Not just farmers and farm workers will feel the impact, local businesses and even the funding of social support programmes will be affected as well. The social fabric of some rural towns in the Western and Northern Cape is being threatened,' said Van der Merwe. He further cautioned that growers may be forced to abandon between 500 and 1,000 hectares of orchards due to unprofitability under the higher tariff regime. The CGA also addressed calls for market diversification, stating that citrus cannot easily be rerouted to alternative markets due to strict phytosanitary and market-specific requirements. The association warned that flooding other markets with diverted citrus could lead to price collapses, further hurting the industry. 'The citrus industry has the potential to create 100,000 additional jobs by 2032 because of new plantings,' the CGA said in its letter. 'But for this to realise, we require the expansion of every market including the US, China, India, the European Union and others.' While acknowledging progress in trade negotiations, the CGA urged the Presidency to intensify direct diplomatic engagement with the US to avoid economic fallout. THE MERCURY
IOL News
an hour ago
- IOL News
Mike Mabuyakhulu: South Africa stands ready for US sanctions amid Palestine support
Senior ANC KwaZulu-Natal leader, Mike Mabuyakhulu, says South Africa is ready for US sanctions. Image: Tumi Pakkies / Independent Newspapers While the United States mulls sanctions against South Africa, senior ANC KwaZulu-Natal leader, Mike Mabuyakhulu, says South Africa is ready for it. "When we decided to take Israel to the International Court of Justice we knew what was going to follow - that friends of the Israeli apartheid state would isolate us and that is what's happening now. Yes we will suffer the consequences but we are prepared because we are standing up for a just cause," Mabuyakhulu told a gathering in Durban on Monday evening. Attendees turned up to welcome a senior Palestinian delegation to the city. They included members of Fatah, the second largest party in the Palestinian Legislature and Fatah Secretary General, Jibril Rajoub. KZN ANC convener Jeff Radebe and Fatah Secretary-General, Major General Jibril Rajoub. Image: Tumi Pakkies / Independent Newspapers Mabuyakhulu's comments comes amid the passing of a bill by the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The bill is aimed at reviewing its relationship between the US and South Africa and possible sanctions against South Africa for policies which the US disagrees with. These include South Africa's position on the Israel/Gaza war and South Africa's expropriation bill. The Trump administration has misinterpreted the bill as allowing the seizure of white owned, Afrikaner agricultural land without compensation. As a further consequence, South Africa also faces the wrath of Trump's tariff war on the world - with a potential 30% tariff on goods to the US, bar a few exceptions like key South African minerals like gold, platinum, coal, manganese and chrome. KZN ANC provincial coordinator Mike Mabuyakhulu, KZN ANC Provincial convener Jeff Radebe, Fatah secretary-general Major General Jibril Rajoub, advisor to Palestinian President Salman Elherfi, and Deputy Convener Weziwe Thusi. Image: Tumi Pakkies / Independent Newspapers The bill will still need to go through further legal hoops and a vote in the house of Representatives before it could become law and binding. There's mixed predictions so far on what the outcome will be, with most political analysts predicting it will not muster enough votes to succeed. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has reacted with calm to the looming threat, saying he is 'hopeful' of a solution to avert a crisis. But, Mabuyakhulu is less diplomatic, saying the ANC, and South Africa, did not fear the consequences of standing with Palestine. "We do not fear because we stand for the right cause. We stand tall as a nation proud of its own freedoms. In the words of tata Madiba our friends are our friends and your enemies cannot be our enemies. We shall stand with Palestine at all times, through thick and thin," he said. IOL
IOL News
3 hours ago
- IOL News
'Even white Zimbabweans are returning': Zanu-PF insists exiles are flocking back home
African National Congress (ANC) Youth League president Collen Malatji shared pictures with President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa during a recent visit to Harare. Image: Thlologelo Collen Malatji/X Many Zimbabweans who left the country at the peak of economic and political turmoil, and settled in numerous countries, including South Africa, are now investing back home, while others are returning to their ancestral nation. These were the views expressed by Zanu PF national spokesperson, Christopher Mutsvangwa, who was recently in South Africa for the 2025 Liberation Movements Summit hosted by the African National Congress (ANC) in Kempton Park. The summit concluded on Monday and was hosted under the theme: 'Defending the liberation gains, advancing integrated socio-economic development, strengthening solidarity for a better Africa.' Southern African liberation movements, including the ANC, People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), Namibia's ruling party, the South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo); Mozambique's Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo); Zanu-PF, and Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) were represented at high level at the summit in Gauteng. Mutsvangwa, in an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, was asked for his views on the prevailing political and economic situation in Zimbabwe, which has resulted in the extensive migration of Zimbabweans into South Africa, estimated in the millions, sparking tensions in South African communities. In his response, Mutsvangwa said Zimbabweans in South Africa are seeking greener pastures, but the situation back home has significantly improved. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'It is the search for better pastures, that is natural. South Africa had the advantage of having comparative access to capital as a white apartheid state. In colonial times, capital into Africa followed white, and South Africa has the biggest white population on the African continent. All those Western countries gave South Africa a certain edge in access to capital. 'We in Zimbabwe/Rhodesia were second in terms of our white population. We also had comparatively better access to capital than any other African country, and we had migration of labour from Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia into Zimbabwe. The former Zimbabwean ambassador to the People's Republic of China said people follow where they see an advantage in terms of development and capital. National spokesperson of Zimbabwe's ruling party, Zanu PF, Christopher Mutsvangwa (left) with Zanu PF director of information Farai Marupira addressing journalists in Harare. Image: File 'Now things have changed. We are now having capital in a flat global world where China can supply capital, India can supply capital, Riyadh can supply capital, so we now have an Africa that is going to global markets, getting capital. That discrepancy in access to capital, which was the case for the colonial era, is beginning to disappear. 'You cannot believe it, there is now a seamless environment between life in Zimbabwe and life abroad. That is why our diaspora is coming back to Zimbabwe, putting a lot of money … our diaspora feels at home, they are now beginning to invest at home. For your information, the biggest diaspora migration is white.' He said the white Zimbabweans who had fled the country at the onset of majority rule in 1980 make up a good number of the people moving back into the landlocked Southern African nation ruled by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. 'So the return of the white diaspora back to Zimbabwe is actually an indication that things are getting better in Zimbabwe. Remember we are operating the hardest currency in the world, the US dollar, and if you can make your economy succeed on the back of the US dollar, it means you are doing very well as a country,' said the War Veterans Association chairperson. Speaking to IOL, Dr Alexander Rusero, head of the department of international relations and diplomacy at the Africa University situated in Mutare, Zimbabwe, said the landlocked country seemingly has its worst times behind it - economically and politically. 'I think in all fairness, Zimbabwe has had its bad tide and we are definitely past that in as much as the mess we were once in as a country is concerned. That explains why you hear an opposition voice. We are as good as not having an opposition in Zimbabwe, and if you want to look at Zimbabwe's dynamics currently, just look at the balance of forces within Zanu-PF. 'With regards to the economy, like any post-colonial African state, we still have challenges with regards to unemployment. The Zimbabwe situation at the moment there is hardly anything to write home about, especially with regards to difficulties. If we are to put that on scale - where are versus where we are coming from, I think we are performing fairly well, in as far as the Zimbabwean standard is concerned. On the political front, Rusero said the country has seen stability after the exit of former president Robert Mugabe. 'We are actually in the most stable political climate post Mugabe, save to say it is unhealthy for a polity not to have a viable and vibrant opposition., as is currently the case. We do not have an opposition, and what happens is that protagonists in Zanu-PF will start quarrelling against each other because there is no external force which would make them unite and fight against an external threat.' He said temperatures within Zimbabwe have normalised, which has paved the way for the country to slip from the regional and international agendas where it was perennially perched due to political violence and intolerance. With regards to the millions of Zimbabweans based outside the country's borders, Rusero said there is no guarantee that they will return home, as some have permanently settled in the countries they moved to. 'We are living in an era of epic human movement. It is not always the case that people migrate so that, at some point, they have to come back. We wouldn't have had whites migrating from Europe to Africa. The whole idea is that you have to be where opportunities are thriving. The world, the global economy, is shrunk at the moment, and as much as people might have nostalgia for coming home, home is where the heart is. 'Zimbabwe is pretty much very stable, but also still has challenges with regard to opportunities, an environment that is hassle-free. In Zimbabwe, you have to hustle, but if it is between life and death, between stability and instability, you would rather be home and be stable, safe, as opposed to being away,' Rusero told IOL. 'The Zimbabwe of 2008 it is a gone Zimbabwe. The country is relatively calm, relatively free, and I think we are experiencing a modicum of some economic and political stability, which has become unusual insofar as Zimbabwe's polity is concerned. IOL News
