President Cyril Ramaphosa was not interested in what the United States wanted and ignored its demands

Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder said that President Cyril Ramaphosa was not interested in meeting with him to discuss the United States’ demands.

This followed Mulder’s visit to Washington in June 2025 to discuss the growing tension between the United States and South Africa.

Mulder led a delegation, which included SAAI CEO Theo de Jager and NEASA CEO Gerhard Papenfus, that met with senior officials at the White House and Capitol Hill.

They met with senior officials, including representatives from the Office of the Vice President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.

They urged the United States not to punish the country for the ANC’s actions and that targeted sanctions against specific politicians would be more appropriate.

After they made their case and shared their views, the United States delegation asked them to listen to their message.

The American official told them that they had a message for South Africa that they had been unable to communicate effectively through the embassy or other official visitors.

This message was the requirements to restore relations between the United States and South Africa and create a more productive working relationship.

• The ANC must distance itself from the ‘Kill the Boer’ song.

• Farm killings must be declared a priority crime, similar to rhino poaching or cash-in-transit robberies.

• United States investors should be exempted from black economic empowerment (BEE) and employment equity requirements.

• The Expropriation Act must be amended so that market-related compensation is paid at the end of a legal process, rather than at the beginning.

The American officials later added a fifth requirement related to South Africa’s relationship with Iran.

This relationship showed that South Africa’s foreign policy was not independent and non-aligned, as the government claimed.

President Cyril Ramaphosa not interested in what the United States said to Mulder

Mulder told Mike Sham on the State of the Nation podcast that Ramaphosa was initially unwilling to meet with him about the United States’ demands.

“When I came back, it wasn’t that easy to meet Ramaphosa. The Presidency tried to give me a runaround. It was amazing,” he said.

“They first tried to send me to the Department of Trade and Industry. I said that I don’t want to talk to Trade and Industry. I want to talk to the President,” Mulder said.

Then they tried to refer me to Luthuli House. I haven’t ever heard from Luthuli House. There is no surprise there.”

He said he was eventually able to see President Cyril Ramaphosa and discuss the United States’ demands. However, this did not yield positive results.

The President and the government did nothing in response to the demands from the United States, and Mulder does not expect that to change.

“I am convinced that the South African government and the President himself are not going to do anything,” he said.

“They are just going to ignore it. That is typically how they operate. No decisions will be taken. They will just ignore it.”

Mulder said that the ANC believes that they should just stick it out, as President Donald Trump will be gone within two-and-a-half years.

“That is a vital mistake, because they fail to understand that this is not merely a Republican issue,” he said.

“The initial steps were taken under Barack Obama during the second term of his presidency when they began reviewing these matters.”

“The dissatisfaction with South Africa’s positioning exists across the aisle between Democrats and Republicans, and the ANC is misreading that situation.”

The United States Ambassador to South Africa confirmed Mulder’s views

The United States Ambassador to South Africa, L. Brent Bozell III, also said that Ramaphosa ignored the issue despite requests that he act.

Bozell explained that they put forward five asks to the South African government and discussed this directly with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

However, despite pleading with Ramaphosa to act on the United States’ demands, Ramaphosa did nothing.

This prompted United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio to announce the new visa restriction policy targeting South Africans engaging in racial discrimination.

“We made these asks in December 2025. Nine months later, South Africa has still not responded,” he said.

“I visited with President Trump and Secretary Rubio in Washington, and they let me know, unequivocally, that they had run out of patience.”

“This could have been answered in 24 hours. However, nine months later, there has been no answer from South Africa.”

Bozell then took that message to President Cyril Ramaphosa, urging him to provide answers on the issues raised by the United States.

“When the response came, the issues were ignored. Ramaphosa simply ignored the issues,” he said.

“President Donald Trump was going to review the response and said that my requests were ignored.”