Cape Town – Deputy President Paul Mashatile has urged South African farmers, particularly White Afrikaners, not to emigrate to the United States, promising to address their concerns around rural safety, infrastructure, market access, and financing.
Speaking at the NAMPO Harvest Day 2025 in the Free State, Mashatile said farmers he met expressed a willingness to stay in the country if the government works with them to resolve key issues.
“Well, the farmers that we met here today are saying that they are happy to stay in South Africa and all they need is for us to work with them to address the challenges they face,” Mashatile said.
[WATCH] Deputy President Paul Mashatile has pleaded with farmers to stay in the country. This follows a group of white Afrikaners who have been accepted in the US under a refugee programme. Mashatile was visiting one of the biggest agricultural exhibitions in Africa, the Nampo… pic.twitter.com/CpdmLwdZy2
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 15, 2025
This comes amid reports that 49 Afrikaners were granted asylum and arrived in the US, citing discrimination and violence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected their claims of persecution, saying they do not qualify as refugees and are not being mistreated, but rather may be resisting constitutional changes in South Africa.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile says the common understanding between the private sector and the government will help deal with misinformation about land grabs and the Expropriation Act in South Africa, and improve the agricultural sector. #Newzroom405
Watch:… pic.twitter.com/pUzJlookVt
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 15, 2025
Following the arrival of a first group of 49 Afrikaners in the US on Monday last week, Mashatile said Trump had been “lied to”.
“There’s no genocide here. We are beautiful, happy people, black and white working and living together,” he told journalists, adding that Ramaphosa would “invite President Trump” to visit “our beautiful country”.
