By Lebone Rodah Mosima
ANC Treasurer-General Gwen Ramokgopa on Saturday denounced the “propaganda of blatant falsehoods” about an alleged “white genocide” in South Africa.
She said the narrative was part of an international effort to “weaken democracy” and “demonise the ANC and progressive forces”.
“What they use is propaganda of blatant falsehoods, such as claims that there is white genocide in our country, so that they can attract sympathy and solidarity from global racist movements and individuals,” she said.
Ramokgopa was speaking at the ANC’s Mpumalanga January 8 anniversary rally at the Lillian Ngoyi Stadium in Secunda.
She told ANC members to broaden a “united front” to defend South Africa’s constitutional democracy, while also prioritising action on gender-based violence and worsening basic services.
“We are here to bring you this message and priorities that must guide our work as the people’s movement as we advance our mission to build a more just society at the service of our communities, our people and our nation,” she said.
Claims of a “white genocide” — often framed around farm murders and land reform — have repeatedly been fact-checked and disputed by researchers and media, who say South Africa’s violent crime affects all communities and that farm-related killings form a small fraction of the country’s overall murders.
The claim has been amplified by US President Donald Trump — and rebutted with crime data and court findings, with research consistently finding that South Africa’s murder victims are overwhelmingly black.
In Secunda, Ramokgopa said that democratic values were under pressure globally.
“This attack seeks to delegitimise any government that aims to redress inequalities. The sin of Venezuela is that they wanted to use their natural resources to build a shared prosperity for their nation and their people,” she said.
She added that foreign actors sought to revive “dark days” by undermining South Africa’s constitutional democracy through “multifaceted tactics”.
Turning to domestic governance, she said the ANC needed to confront service-delivery failures and municipal underperformance, citing water, electricity infrastructure and potholes.
She warned that unspent infrastructure funds are being returned to the state. “The time of sending back infrastructure funds must come to an end. There must not be any money that is fed back to the national treasury whilst our communities need it to improve local services,” she said.
Ramakgopa also spoke about crime, corruption and gender-based violence, noting that government has classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster.
She also defended the ANC’s “step-aside” rule for members facing serious allegations. “Our step-aside policy is to enable us to distance ourselves and send a zero-tolerance posture and message against crime, corruption, GBVF and those malfeasances,” she said.
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