How South Africa’s Minorities Could Break Free and Thrive
South Africa is on the brink - will self-determination be the answer? Robert King, co-founder of the Referendum Party, explores how the ANC's radical policies are pushing minority groups to fight for autonomy, with the Western Cape leading the charge for independence.
Robert King
Feb 11, 2025 - 1:23 PM
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Trump’s Blow to the ANC: A Lifeline for South Africa’s Minorities
The Trump administration is taking a hard look at South Africa. For many, it’s a long-overdue reality check. The days of Mandela’s rainbow nation are long gone. The economy is collapsing, the African National Congress (ANC) is drowning in corruption, and the government has aligned itself with terrorists and rogue states while openly antagonizing the West.
After 30 years in power, the ANC has blended the worst of Cuban socialism, Zimbabwean mismanagement, and radical identity politics into a toxic state ideology. The result? Hundreds of thousands have already fled, and a staggering 90% of graduates want out.
But not all of us are ready to give up. South Africa may never work as a unitary state, but its diverse peoples can still thrive - if given the chance. With electoral politics failing, self-determination is the only real alternative.
Political Extremism on the Rise in South Africa
The 2024 national elections led to the formation of a so-called Government of National Unity (GNU), bringing minority-based and center-right parties into government for the first time in nearly 30 years. But beneath this centrist facade lies a grim reality: South Africa’s electorate is increasingly turning to extremist black nationalist parties.
These parties openly sing about shooting white farmers, call for the slaughter of women and children, and threaten violence to seize land and resources from the "white capitalist class." Together, they secured around a quarter of the vote and now form the main parliamentary opposition. While they broke away from the ANC over claims it was too cozy with business, this shift hasn’t made the ruling party any more moderate.
In fact, the GNU has utterly failed to rein in the ANC. Instead, it has become one of the most left-wing governments in post-apartheid history, pushing policies that undermine everything from Afrikaner language rights in schools to basic property rights.
The latter is particularly alarming. Strong property rights are the foundation of any successful economy, and Zimbabwe serves as a stark warning of what happens when they collapse. While the media downplays the impact of the recent Expropriation Bill, the ANC’s ultimate goal is clear: the power to seize land without compensation. Ramaphosa’s government will exploit every legal avenue to make it happen. The consequences for South Africa’s future are dire.
Trump is Exposing The ANC Myth
If Kamala Harris were in the White House, the U.S. would have responded with carefully worded diplomatic statements and empty gestures. But America chose differently. Trump - backed by Elon Musk and Ted Cruz - has torn the mask off the ANC, a party long admired by the Western left, especially for its “DEI” policies.
Why has it taken so long for the ANC’s true nature to be exposed? The mainstream media, or the "Radical Left Media," as Trump calls it, has reluctantly reported on the ANC’s corruption and occasional racist tirades. Yet it still pushes the myth that the party remains true to Mandela’s vision. This deception rests on a carefully crafted narrative: that the ANC single-handedly ended Apartheid and brought democracy to South Africa.
The truth is far uglier. The ANC didn’t just fight the white-led government – it waged a brutal "people’s war" against its black rivals, particularly the Zulu-led Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Thousands of black South Africans including men, women, and children were slaughtered in horrific fashion. The ANC’s signature method? Necklacing: burning victims alive with flaming tires around their necks. This is the ANC’s real legacy: not moral leadership, but bloodshed, political purges, and a ruthless hunger for power. Justice and democracy were never the goal, only total control over whatever system replaced Apartheid.
The real force behind Apartheid’s downfall was not the ANC. It was Western pressure, led by the U.S. and U.K., that forced the South African government to negotiate a transition. Now, the tables have turned. Just as sanctions once helped dismantle the old regime, Trump’s actions could weaken the ANC’s grip on power. But America must act wisely. Millions of South Africans - especially farmers and small business owners - never supported this corrupt government. They already suffer under crushing taxes, economic collapse, lawlessness, and daily threats to their lives. Broad sanctions or cutting South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) would only deepen their misery.
Instead, the U.S. should target the ANC and its enablers - the media propagandists, radical NGOs, and their corrupt corporate backers - while sparing those fighting for real change.
The Failure of Conventional Politics
Raising awareness about South Africa’s crises is important but awareness alone is not enough. Freedom is never granted; it must be seized, fought for, and defended. But who will fight for it?
Conventional politics no longer offers a solution. The centre-right opposition is too weak and electorally constrained to shift the state’s trajectory. Meanwhile, radical African nationalism is not retreating. It is growing. Seventy percent of the electorate consistently supports parties that champion race-based policies, land expropriation, and socialism.These are not aberrations; they are the democratic will of the majority. One cannot "save" a country that does not want to be saved. But that does not mean the minority must resign themselves to destruction.
Across South Africa, there are towns, districts, and even entire provinces where a different vision exists - one that embraces free markets, individual rights, and Western values. As a national government seeks to seize property and dismantle entire communities, these regions must become equally radical in defending their self-governance. This is why self-determination is no longer a fringe idea. It is the only viable path forward. Across all levels - neighbourhoods, municipalities, and provinces - efforts are underway to wrest control from a hostile national government and return power to those capable of governing themselves. The old paradigm of “saving South Africa” has failed. But is it still possible to save parts of it?
Self-Determination: The Only Path Forward for South Africa’s Minorities
Many of these efforts are already taking shape through de facto autonomy. Afrikaner organisations like Solidariteit have filled the vacuum left by the state, building parallel institutions in security, education, and infrastructure. Others seek legal recognition, such as the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), which is leveraging constitutional provisions to push for greater autonomy for the Western Cape.
The Western Cape is unique. It is the only province where ethnic minorities - particularly the Cape Coloured community - form the majority. It is also the best-governed province in the country, with a population that overwhelmingly rejects the national government’s policies. If a province demonstrates better governance, should it not have the right to govern itself? Polling conducted before the formation of the GNU showed that 58% of Western Cape residents - across all racial and cultural groups - support full independence.
Self-determination is a jus cogens right under international law, one that South Africa has explicitly sworn to uphold. It is a right that applies to all peoples without exception. The Western Cape, with its distinct cultural and political identity, has every legal and moral claim to autonomy. Minority communities across South Africa - whether cultural or ideological - will always be outnumbered in national elections. It is mathematically impossible for them to vote themselves out of poor governance no matter the conditions. Cape Independence and other forms of self-determination offer a way forward - a chance to preserve what is best about South Africa while escaping the decline imposed by the ANC and its extremist offshoots.
For 30 years, the ANC has ruled unchecked. That era is coming to an end. The incoming U.S. administration could provide the external pressure needed to tip the scales. The question now is: what comes next?
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Robert King
Co-Founder Referendum Party | PPE Student