Bumpy road lies ahead for the nation
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, met in the While House recently. The US has been very critical of South Africa's foreign policy stance, which, on many occasions, went against the American national interests, according to the writer.
Image: AFP
September, a month synonymous with renewal and new beginnings, will be the most challenging period in South Africa's political and economic landscape due to actions likely to be taken by the US against the country.
The first is the end of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is set to expire in September.
However, the new 30% tariffs introduced by the US for SA will likely override the existing AGOA conventions when they take effect at the beginning of August 2025. The second biggest conundrum will be the possibility of the US Senate's decision on the US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025.
The ground is fertile in the US to act against the South African government, which is believed to have acted against the US's national interests. The US has been very critical of South Africa's foreign policy stance, which, on many occasions, went against the American national interests.
This has been evident in their divergent voting patterns on various United Nations (UN) platforms, where South Africa and the US have often taken opposing positions. The relations between the US - SA did not break during the Trump administration, and Joe Biden also raised similar concerns about South Africa.
The ANC should be told, 'You made your bed, now lie in it.' They have chosen to strengthen their alliances with the geopolitical rivals to the West at the expense of decades of working partnerships with the Western powers. It was very shortsighted of the ANC to believe that there would not be actions or reactions from the side of the US on how it is being undermined by Africa's powerful regional bloc.
The escalating tensions between the US and South Africa took an uphill path in 2022 when South Africa was alleged by the US to have loaded the Lady R with armaments that would be used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The South African government dismissed this allegation. In 2023, in the aftermath of Israeli attacks by Hamas on the 7th October 2023, we saw South Africa continuing with its support for Hamas, a designated terror organisation by countries such as the US and European Union (EU) countries.
Dr. Naledi Pandor kicked off a diplomatic storm when she agreed that she had a telephonic conversation with the same Hamas and offered them humanitarian support, a vicious group that invaded Israel and killed more than 1 200 innocent civilians and kidnapped more than 250 people, some are still held under the tunnels in Gaza to date.
Just when we thought that the ANC would tone down its anti-US messaging, it did the unexpected by dragging the State of Israel into the UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ). Their legal basis was that Israel was committing genocidal acts in Gaza.
This act by the South African government would be seen as heroic by some, while others criticised the move because it would not be a viable solution to the longstanding Israel-Palestine conflict. It is possible that the ANC's thinking at the time was to maximise its electoral fortunes, which drastically dropped to below 50%. Their energy on the issue is draining because it is not yielding them the political capital they had planned.
If indeed South Africa was genuine about fighting for the rights of the vulnerable people around the world, they could have started with their population, wherein 14 million people are living in dire poverty, not knowing what they would eat the following day. A country where quite a sizable youth are unemployed.
The country that experiences 62 murders per day for the whole year, a number that is unmatched throughout the world, we are the murder capital. Still, the political leadership ignores what is affecting their people.
Mokgatlhe is a political analyst and consultant.
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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Regulation It does not require platforms, schools, or service providers to assess how their digital systems affect children. Nor does it regulate how educational or health institutions collect, process, or store children's data. And when it comes to enforcement? Sporadic at best. Reports by Media Monitoring Africa have consistently shown how children remain exposed to harmful content on social media platforms, largely due to insufficient regulatory oversight. These reports also highlight how social media outlets continue disregard ethical standards by revealing the identities of child victims, suspects, or witnesses incases of abuse or crime. This reflects a broader systemic issue: the lack of proactive and child-centered enforcement of digital rights protections. The consequences are playing out in real time. Schools are collecting children's biometric data fingerprints, facial recognition, and learning analytics, often without meaningful parental consent or adequate protections. Learning platforms store sensitive information with minimal oversight. Such unchecked data practices not only breach privacy but risk normalising surveillance cultures in children's formative spaces. Unlike countries such as the United Kingdom, which adopted the Age-Appropriate Design Code to ensure digital services process children's data responsibly, South Africa has no binding standards tailored to the digital protection of children. As a result, children's digital lives are being mined, monitored, and monetised with few protections in place. Cybersecurity South Africa also lacks meaningful capacity-building incentives and strategies in cybersecurity essential for bridging the digital divide, building institutional competence, and addressing skills shortages and policy gaps. The absence of child-specific digital legislation, coupled with limited awareness among policymakers, continues to leave children's rights online dangerously under-prioritised. And it's not just about data and privacy, deeper systematic issues are emerging. Digital systems meant to make education more efficient are systematically excluding some of the most vulnerable children. 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Digital literacy Digital literacy shouldn't be a nice-to-have. It should be part of every school's core curriculum. The oversight bodies like the Human Rights Commission and the Information Regulator must be properly mandated and resourced to protect children's digital rights effectively. We are standing at a crossroads. The digital world holds incredible promise for education, connection, and empowerment. But without a rights-based approach, it also risks deepening inequality, fueling harm, and widening the very gaps we are trying to close. South Africa must act with urgency and intention. Without decisive, child-centred digital intervention, we risk leaving another generation behind. *Machaka is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Private Law at Stellenbosch University. Weekend Argus
