The ANC has betrayed Afrikaans South Africans – VF+

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, the leader of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) Dr Corné Mulder, said Ramaphosa has betrayed the Afrikaans community. 

Mulder said it was difficult to hear the President relay a long list of problems to the South African public during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“We have reached a point where the country is grinding to a halt and stagnating. Much of it can be traced back directly to ideologically driven policy directions to which you and the ANC continue to cling,” Mulder said. 

He cited cadre deployment, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action as some examples of policies that have failed in their mandate. 

Mulder blamed 30 years of ANC rule for the water crisis and additionally criticised the president’s approach to foreign policy, which he said has caused enormous economic damage. 

Mulder then announced to the public that he had gifted the President with a copy of the Afrikaner Self-determination Accord, saying there are “unresolved issues” at play. 

“The Afrikaner and all other minorities are extending a helping hand to you. We want to help, but it is not unconditional. We ask for equal treatment and recognition,” he said.

During the SONA speech, Ramaphosa said that South Africa “will not be free as long as the people of Palestine and the Western Sahara are not free.”

Mulder said that this statement is of little consequence while the South African Afrikaner community does not even have the right to determine the language of instruction in their school.

The party leader is referring to the Basic Education laws Amendment Act (BELA) which the president signed into law in September 2024. 

The BELA bill has been in the works since 2017, initiated to amend the South African Schools Act and the Employment Educators Act.

The new laws make Grade R compulsory and give the provincial and national government more control over admissions and schools’ language of instruction. 

Some remain concerned that the language policies threaten mother-tongue education, particularly in Afrikaans schools by giving governing bodies the final decision on language of instruction. 

BELA and BEE must go – Mulder

Mulder added that, “we are also not allowed to decide and determine shareholding in our own businesses and companies. This is not freedom.”

Mulder is referring to BEE ownership laws, in which companies are heavily incentivised to achieve at least 25% black ownership. 

Companies with below 10% black ownership are discounted a BEE level. This is one of the most weighted elements on a company’s BEE scorecard. 

In response to these betrayals, Mulder provided the President with a copy of the Afrikaner Self-determination Accord.

“Afrikaner self-determination is an unresolved issue that will not go away. So let us deal with it,” he said. 

The accord, signed in 1994 between the ANC, the VF+ and the National Party, outlines the right for the Afrikaans community to self-determination, including local and regional forms of expression of this right. 

The agreement adds that this right cannot override the principles of democracy, non-racialism or the fundamental rights of all citizens. 

The party leader said that the VF+ has consistently upheld its agreements with the ANC, but through BELA, BEE and land expropriation, the ANC has violated the terms of this agreement. 

“That makes me angry, and is a serious breach of trust,” Mulder said. “That makes Afrikaners draw back their hands.”

Mulder concluded that the time has come for Ramaphosa to say where he stands in relation to the Afrikaner.