Cyril Ramaphosa did nothing for nine months on things which could have been answered in 24 hours

The United States Ambassador to South Africa, L. Brent Bozell III, said that President Cyril Ramaphosa did nothing for nine months on five simple issues.

He shared this information during a discussion with SABC News regarding the United States’ new visa restriction policy.

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.”

Bozell explained that there was no commitment on ‘Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer, the rural farm issue, or black economic empowerment (BEE).

In response, Rubio announced the planned visa restrictions, which are likely to affect high-profile politicians.

The five points which the United States wants addressed

In the interview, Bozell explained the five issues laid out by the United States administration to address diplomatic and economic alignment.

• Refugee Program: Requesting the South African government to leave the United States refugee program for Afrikaners alone.

• Expropriation Without Compensation: America expresses concern over policies involving land expropriation without compensation, citing potential impacts on foreign investment.

• Denouncing Incitement to Violence: The United States asked President Ramaphosa to publicly denounce chants such as “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer”.

• Rural Farm Safety: The United States wants South Africa to address security concerns and safety in rural farming communities.

• Black economic empowerment: The United States wants Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes in telecommunications and mining.

Bozell said that, despite the positivity and simplicity of these five asks, the South African government has done nothing.