US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s decision to abruptly cut aid to South Africa will have far-reaching implications for the province of KwaZulu-Natal, which signed exchange agreements on climate change with the State of Maryland last year. This is according to a top Durban-based environmentalist, Desmond D’sa.
In October, Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli announced that he had sealed agreements with the State of Maryland during the New York Climate Week, which he attended.
“Our partnership with Maryland will assist our province in addressing all the negative effects of flood disasters. This partnership will be structured to work with all 54 municipalities in KZN, including solidifying our tourism offerings and opening new opportunities for collaboration,” said Ntuli at the time.
The program was expected to cover issues of climate change, agriculture and nutrition.
While the province was now mum about the programs following Trump’s executive order, D’sa, a well-known environmentalist, said the consequences of Trump’s decision would be “great” for us.
“We are left on our own to deal with the issue of climate change because our government has been dragging its feet in dealing with this issue. We have been waiting for someone to fix our climate change problems instead of us fixing it ourselves,” said D’sa.
D’sa, known for his advocacy against air pollution in Durban, also lashed out at the US, saying the country was the biggest polluter in the world.
“The US has got away with climate change transgressions. Continents such as Africa are left to suffer because of the US. It is time for the continent to implement its own solutions to the crisis of climate change. We cannot delay this any further. We need to find solutions as we prepare for the inevitable,” he said.
D’sa lambasted the US government for using countries such as South Africa as “dump sites”.
“The US is also guilty of using many African countries as dump sites. We need to fight against it. I think it is time now that we unite as a bloc and deal with this worrying matter. What Trump has done by freezing funding must teach us a lesson not to rely on other people to solve our problems,” he said.
KZN, a disaster-prone province, has witnessed deadly floods, including the deluge in 2022 that left more than 436 people dead and scores displaced. Some victims still remain housed in various shelters around Durban, including the CBD.
In August last year, runaway fires hit the KZN Midlands, claiming the lives of 16 people and leaving many cattle dead and hundreds of people displaced.
A month later, while the province was reeling from the fires, a snowstorm struck, leading to two deaths and thousands of motorists stranded on the N2.
Trump, recently inaugurated as US president for the second time, signed an executive order to cut funding to South Africa as his fight-back to the recently signed Expropriation Act.
Trump accused the country of “confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly” and subsequently announced that his government would freeze funding for aid projects under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for 90 days as he “reviews” whether these projects aligned with his priorities.
Economist Dawie Roodt said: "The short answer is that (executive order) would not have a direct impact, at least not yet, on the South African economy. The things he has said so far are quite rattling for everybody.”
However, Roodt warned that the financial markets have reacted to Trump’s statements.
“Secondly, there is so much that Donald Trump can do. If he sanctions South Africa and imposes an executive order prohibiting Americans from buying South African bonds as an example, that would have a massive impact on the South African financial markets and the economy,” said Roodt.
Roodt said he did not foresee any major financial implications following Trump’s executive order.
Bongani Gina, the spokesperson for Premier Ntuli declined to comment about the future of the programs the province had with the State of Maryland.
“This matter is out of our scope. DIRCO (Department of International Relations and Cooperation) is leading such discussions,” said Gina.
During his State of the Nation address on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country "will not be bullied.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Ramaphosa said: "We are witnessing the rise of nationalism, protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause.”
In a statement, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said: “The Government of South Africa has taken note of the latest executive order issued by President Trump. It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.”
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