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The re-election of Donald Trump would not necessarily be detrimental for Africa, according to a former senior South African diplomat. Dr Kingsley Makhubela, the former South African Chief of Protocol, stated that despite derogatory remarks—Trump referred to African countries as “shithole countries”—“we’ve never seen a policy position that raised concern about how he deals with Africa.”
Makhubela argued that Trump’s directness and focus on negotiation could potentially benefit African nations. Africa’s critical minerals, he said, could be used as strategic bargaining tools in international relations, especially as global powers like the U.S. and China compete for access. He told National Security News in an interview: “The fact that Africans have better access to strategic minerals is going to work in the interest of Africa.”
His remarks come amid mounting concerns about the potential impact of Trump’s re-election on the African continent, and particularly for South Africa. For South Africa, its continued participation in the AGOA agreement, which provides duty-free access to the US market, hangs in the balance after lawmakers called for a review of US relations with South Africa due to its “history with malign actors.”
The appointment of vocal critics of South Africa’s non-alignment movement to top US diplomatic posts has also raised concern. In one of his first cabinet picks, Trump appointed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, as his Ambassador to the US. Stefanik is a staunch ally of Israel and signed a bipartisan letter to outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this year, expressing lawmakers’ “disgust” at South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Dr Makhubela noted that Trump, when considering his track record, has never spoken about the possibility of ending South Africa’s participation in the AGOA agreement, which provides duty-free access to the US market. “During the four years that he was at the White House, there was never even a discussion of the possibility of AGOA being terminated. He’s never made such a statement. The possibility of termination actually came from the Biden administration,” he said.
The former diplomat suggests that a second presidency for Donald Trump could fundamentally transform conflict situations around the world and prevent a possible World War III. “There are two areas that have been really troubling the international community: the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. But Donald Trump has made it clear during the campaign that as soon as he moves into the White House, he would like to stop both wars,” he said.
