South Africa fails to answer the United States’ Five Asks

NEASA CEO Gerhard Papenfus said the South African government has thus far failed to meet any of the United States’ “Five Asks”, which will strain relations between the two countries.

In an interview with Newsday, Papenfus said the United States is unwilling to “back down” on any of its demands, leaving South Africa vulnerable if it does not respond.

Should South Africa fail to show a willingness to engage with the US’s demands, it could harm investment in the country and damage business confidence.

Papenfus was part of a delegation that went to the United States and was one of the first to learn of Washington’s four, which has now become five, demands for South Africa.

The White House said meeting these demands is critical to restore diplomatic relations with Pretoria. The five asks of South Africa are:

• Declare farm murders a priority crime
• The government must distance itself from the ‘Kill the Boer’ song
• Protect property rights by stopping Expropriation without Compensation policies
• Remove Black Economic Empowerment and other race-based laws
• The ANC must end its close relations with Iran and its proxies

Papenfus said South Africa’s government would receive a “zero out of five” for progress made on these asks to date.

“Not a single attempt to work on it. They’ve done nothing. They live in denial, caught up in their own ideological framework cage, and they can’t get out of it,” he said.

He warned that the government’s refusal to engage with Washington’s demands put South Africa in a vulnerable position.

“It is compromising our trade relations. Although AGOA was extended recently, that’s not the end of the story,” he said. “I think there may come more stringent measures against the ANC.”

Papenfus added that while there may have been background diplomatic attempts to “water down” the demands to strike a deal, the United States is not willing to “back down”.

“I think we know that America stands very firm on the asks. They’re not budging a millimetre,” he said.

South Africa’s response to Washington’s demands

While South Africa’s government has not engaged directly with Washington’s five asks, it has made some attempts to sway US President Donald Trump.

However, these attempts have been unsuccessful. Bloomberg recently reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote a letter to Trump in response to his demands.

US Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, said this letter was unsuccessful and did not satisfy Trump.

Bozell’s comments came after the United States announced a new visa restriction policy targeting South African politicians on Tuesday, 15 September.

The restrictions apply to “foreign nationals who enact or enable policies that promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa”.

This was seen as a direct response from the US to South Africa’s failure to engage with its five demands.

Bozell said South Africa’s inactivity in this regard has signalled to Washington that it does not care to improve relations between them.

He warned that the United States is running out of patience with South Africa and that further consequences will follow if the government does not engage with the five demands.

“As a result, the consequences, as I’ve attempted time and again to express, are necessarily going to be severe,” he said.

He said the US’s visa restriction policy is only the first step in a series of escalatory measures that will “show America’s firm resolve in this matter”.

Papenfus said he hopes that the US limits these consequences to South Africa’s law- and decision-makers, rather than punishing all South Africans.

“If you want to punish somebody, punish those who are causing the problem and making the laws for political gain,” he said.

“99% of South Africans are good people, and the relationship between South Africans on the ground is actually extremely good.”