Department of International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Director-General (DDG) Clayson Monyela, Acting Chief of State Protocol, receiving copies of Letters of Credence from Leo Brent Bozell III, United States Ambassador to South Africa, last week.
Image: DIRCO
The FW de Klerk Foundation has called on the new US Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, to “deeply research and engage” with a broad range of local institutions on constitutional compliance, property rights, the rule of law, and economic growth and job creation.
The foundation set up in honour of the last president of apartheid South Africa, FW de Klerk, said in a statement that it welcomed the ambassador’s stated commitments to “fact-based” assessment of the problems facing the country’s constitutional democracy.
The organisation sent out the statement “in light of recent international rhetoric regarding ‘genocide’ and ‘mass land grabs’”. It said it wanted to clarify the legal and social realities of South Africa, urging the US Mission to adopt a “fact-based perspective that supports our democratic institutions”.
It reiterated its long-standing position on farm attacks. It said “while the brutal nature of farm attacks is a matter of grave national concern, categorising these crimes as ‘white genocide’ is factually inaccurate and politically inflammatory”. It attributed these attacks to a “broader, national crisis of violent crime” and a “criminal environment of impunity”.
Bozell’s accreditation with President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to take place next month. The man described as a “right-wing activist”, arrived in Pretoria about two weeks ago and reportedly said he looked forward to "representing America First foreign policy".
His arrival in the country comes as the two countries have been at odds over a number of thorny issues, including allegations of “white genocide” and “mass land grabs” – claims which have been rejected by Ramaphosa as well as people and organisations from across the political and social spectrum in South Africa – and the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Referring to these allegations, the foundation said: “We urge Ambassador Bozell to report to President (Donald) Trump that the solution lies not in international alarmism, but in pressuring the South African government to restore rural safety and professionalise the South African Police Service (“SAPS”) for the benefit of all citizens.”
On land reform, it said it remained “deeply concerned” about the Expropriation Act of 2024, saying that it viewed provisions that allow for “nil compensation” as “legally unsound” and a threat to Section 25 of the Constitution.
However, it dismissed the “land grab” claims.
“It is vital for our international partners to understand that South Africa is not experiencing lawless seizures. We are a nation governed by laws, and the Foundation is prepared to challenge any unconstitutional application of this Act in the Constitutional Court,” the foundation said.
It also called on the US to “help promote the expansion of land ownership and title deeds for all South Africans”.
“It is mainly black and brown rural dwellers living in former homelands and on mission land who do not enjoy the benefit of property rights. South African property owners must be supported by advocating for "fair and equitable" compensation, so that the agricultural sector remains a pillar of the economy and a key player in AGOA. Support for the current land reform programme is also critical.”
It said the “best defence for minority rights and the market economy is the success of the current Government of National Unity”.