ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula slammed the US for its plans to turn offices in Pretoria into refugee centres for the alleged abused Afrikaners.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, has vehemently condemned the United States' plan to transform commercial office spaces into refugee centers for Afrikaners in Pretoria, labeling the initiative as nothing short of "madness."
Speaking at a media briefing in Luthuli House on Tuesday, Mbalula said the US was making unfounded claims against the South African government.
“This thing that there is genocide in South Africa is a total unfounded fabrication,” he said.
"The refugee centres, that is just madness that you can build refugee centres in a country as peaceful as South Africa and claim people are being subjected to genocide.
“The real genocide is happening there in the Middle East, that is what needs to be curtailed and even worked with everybody to find a solution”.
On Monday the US has deployed multiple teams to convert offices into an ad hoc refugee centre housing thousands of Afrikaners.
This was according to a report by The New York Times, that the Trump administration was spearheading an initiative dubbed “Mission South Africa,” aimed at relocating white Afrikaners who claim to be facing challenges in South Africa. The process will be rolled out in phases.
The teams are reportedly studying more than 8,200 requests expressing interest in resettling to the US and have already identified 100 Afrikaners who could be approved for refugee status.
US officials stationed in South Africa are expected to present comprehensive, long-term strategies by mid-April to ensure the effective implementation of the President’s vision for the dignified resettlement of eligible Afrikaner applicants.