Latest news with #BlackSouthAfricans
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa's Black Empowerment Laws and the Long Shadow of Apartheid
During the eras of colonialism and apartheid, Black South Africans were subjugated, denied a decent education, and excluded from the mainstream economy. Severe racial disparities endure to this day, more than three decades after the end of White-minority rule. South Africa ranks as one of the world's most unequal countries, according to analysis by the World Inequality Lab. The government has introduced a series of policies to try to narrow the wealth gap. While these Black-economic-empowerment measures have helped diversify corporate ownership and grow a Black middle class, critics say a small, politically connected elite have been the primary beneficiaries.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Why prioritising Afrikaner farmers?': Marco Rubio, Tim Kaine get into heated argument over refugees
US: In a heated Senate exchange, Senator Tim Kaine challenged Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the U.S. prioritising Afrikaner farmers from South Africa for refugee status. Rubio defended the move by saying they had passed legal checks and were victims of race-based land seizures. Kaine countered, citing South Africa's current government of national unity, which includes Afrikaner-led parties, arguing there's no systemic persecution. He criticised the U.S. for never having similar special refugee programs for Black South Africans during apartheid, calling the current policy biased and unprecedented. Show more Show less
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
After White House Row, South Africa Sets the Stage for Starlink Approval
The South African government moved one step closer to approving the use of Starlink in the country. Officials on Friday began a policy review process that could pave the way for Elon Musk to bring his satellite internet service into South Africa for the first time without having to sell shares to Black South Africans. South African law requires foreign companies to provide partial ownership to historically disadvantaged groups, which were prohibited from participating in many business opportunities during apartheid. The law is meant to redress the economic inequality that persists three decades after that brutal system of racial segregation came to an end. Mr. Musk, who was born in South Africa, has called the laws racist. 'Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I'm not black,' he posted on X in March. The announcement on Friday comes just two days after Mr. Musk attended a tense Oval Office meeting in which President Trump confronted President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa with false claims of mass killings of white farmers. White House officials have said that American companies should be exempted from the ownership requirement. Paving the way for Starlink approval and highlighting other business opportunities for Mr. Musk was seen as a strategy Mr. Ramaphosa might use in the White House to help reach a new trade deal and repair his country's icy relations with the United States. Members of the South African delegation met with Musk representatives ahead of the Oval Office meeting, South African officials said. Mr. Ramaphosa has sought to entice Mr. Musk — the world's richest man — to bring his businesses to South Africa. He came to the White House planning to highlight future opportunities for Mr. Musk, whose businesses currently do not operate in South Africa. The two have spoken several times in recent months, including discussions about the regulations affecting Starlink access. The review process launched on Friday seeks to provide satellite companies with an alternative to selling equity — they could instead invest in disadvantaged communities to obtain licenses. This alternative, known as an 'equity equivalent,' is already being used in other industries in South Africa, including the automobile sector. South African officials have insisted that the change is not about currying favor with Mr. Musk. The move would allow any satellite internet provider, mobile network company or broadcaster to utilize equity equivalents. Solly Malatsi, the government minister overseeing the country's telecommunications industry, has said that equity equivalents are an important tool to attract foreign investment. He issued the policy directive on Friday, asking the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa to align its regulations with existing laws allowing for equity equivalents. The public has 30 days to submit comments on the proposed change, and then the authority will determine whether to implement it. 'Digital infrastructure and access to the internet opens a world of opportunity — from applying for jobs and studying, to accessing government services or even starting a business,' a spokesman for Mr. Malatsi said in a statement. Starlink has suggested that the mere presence of its service — high-speed internet in underserved areas — is a tool for Black empowerment, more so than selling shares to Black South Africans. Critics are skeptical, arguing that Mr. Musk's fierce attacks on the country and his false claims of white genocide should not be swept aside. The Economic Freedom Fighters, an opposition party known for its fierce defense of Black empowerment, blasted the proposed policy change. The party accused Mr. Musk of influencing the Trump administration's aggressive foreign policy toward South Africa to advance his business interests there. 'This policy is clearly a capitulation in the face of an aggressive disinformation campaign of white genocide perpetuated by Musk,' the party said in a statement. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Khusela Sangoni Diko, a member of Parliament from Mr. Ramaphosa's party, said last month that several satellite operators interested in investing in South Africa were willing to comply with the existing ownership rules. 'There is no need for overreliance and obsession with a single satellite provider,' she said, referring to Starlink.
Eyewitness News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Presidency clarifies Mcebisi Jonas' absence from Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump
JOHANNESBURG - The Presidency has moved to clarify why Mcebisi Jonas didn't join President Cyril Ramaphosa on his official visit to the United States (US), dismissing speculation around his status. Jonas, a former deputy finance minister, was part of preparatory meetings ahead of Ramaphosa's bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. The Presidency said that while Jonas holds a valid visa, and no formal inquiries were raised about his role or conduct, Jonas requested to stay behind. The clarity comes after Trump's assertion that a "white genocide" was underway in South Africa, claiming it's being ignored by the media. During Wednesday's meeting at the White House, Ramaphosa rejected the claims, but stressed that isolated attacks on white farmers cannot be compared to the systemic oppression faced by Black South Africans under apartheid. On the matter of Jonas missing the all-important meeting, in a statement, the Presidency said there was nothing untoward about his absence, adding that it had no impact on the president's programme.
News18
22-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
What Is ‘White Genocide' In South Africa As Claimed By Donald Trump & Elon Musk? Explained
Last Updated: Reports suggest that the South African government is expropriating land from white farmers through violent land seizures in order to distribute it to Black South Africans US President Donald Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa by playing a video that he falsely claimed proved genocide was being committed against White people – 'the opposite of Apartheid". Trump's brusque stunt on Wednesday was the most tense Oval Office encounter since his unprecedented public meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March. What Is White Genocide Conspiracy Theory? Let us understand how the claims of white genocide have been circulated over the years, with Trump being the most recent leader propagating the theory. 1. The theory of genocide of white farmers in South Africa has been propagated by some fringe groups of white South Africans since the end of apartheid in 1994. It has been circulating in global far-right chat rooms for at least a decade, with the vocal support of Trump's ally, South African-born Elon Musk. They accuse the Black-majority led government of being complicit in the farm murders, either by encouraging them or at least turning a blind eye. The government strongly denies this. 2. Trump has long maintained that Afrikaners, a minority descended from mainly Dutch colonists who ruled South Africa during its decades of racial apartheid, are being persecuted. He played a video clip that showed a long line of white crosses on the side of a highway, which Trump said were 'burial sites" for white farmers. The clip was made in September 2020 during a protest against farm murders. The crosses did not mark actual graves. An organizer told South Africa's public broadcaster, SABC, at the time that the wooden crosses represented farmers who had been killed over the years, as mentioned in a Reuters report. 3. There are reports that the South African government is expropriating land from white farmers without compensation, including through violent land seizures, in order to distribute it to Black South Africans. The government has a policy of attempting to redress inequalities in land ownership that are a legacy of apartheid and colonialism. But no land has been expropriated, and the government has instead tried to encourage white farmers to sell their land willingly. A Reuters report says that some three-quarters of privately-owned farmland is still in the hands of whites, who comprise 8% of the population, while 4% is owned by Blacks who make up 80% of the population. 4. In February, a South African judge dismissed the idea of a genocide as 'clearly imagined" and 'not real", when ruling in an inheritance case involving a wealthy benefactor's donation to white supremacist group Boerelegioen. 5. South Africa does not release crime figures based on race but the latest figures revealed that 6,953 people were murdered in the country between October and December 2024. Who Are Afrikaners? Modern Afrikaners are descendants of Western Europe who settled on the southern top of Africa during the middle of the 17th Century. A mixture of Dutch (34.8%), German (33.7%) and French (13.2%) settlers, they formed a 'unique cultural group" which identified itself 'completely with African soil", according to South African History Online. They speak Afrikaans, which is quite similar to Dutch. But as they settled down in Africa, Afrikaners as well as White people forced Blacks to leave their land. Afrikaans, also known as Boers, mainly belong to the farming community. In 1948, South Africa's Afrikaner-led government began practising apartheid, and took racial segregation to a more extreme level. Inter-race marriages were banned, skilled and semi-skilled jobs were restricted to White people and Blacks were forced to live in their homelands. They were also denied education, with Afrikaner leader Hendrik Verwoerd infamously remarking in the 1950s that 'blacks should never be shown the greener pastures of education. They should know their station in life is to be hewers of wood and drawers of water." Their dominance ended in 1994 when Blacks were allowed to vote and Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress came to power. The 2.5 million Afrikaners form roughly 4% of the South Africa's total 60 million population. How Are Trump And Musk Supporting The Claim? The Trump Oval Office meeting where he ambushed his counterpart Ramaphosa was also attended by Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa. Trump also said he was not sure how he could attend the G20 summit of world leaders, due to be held in South Africa later this year, in such an environment. The US president has given members of Afrikaner community refugee status over genocide allegations despite his administration halting arrivals of asylum seekers as he cracks down on immigration. More than 70,000 Afrikaners have expressed interest in moving to the US, with about 50 of them arriving in the country to take up Trump's offer of 'refuge". Meanwhile, South Africa will reportedly offer Musk a deal to operate his Starlink satellite internet network in the country. The Tesla and SpaceX boss has accused Pretoria of 'openly racist" laws, a reference to post-apartheid Black empowerment policies seen as a hurdle to the licensing of Starlink.
