Washington DC, 12 August 2025 – The Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation vehemently denounces President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration for exploiting the fallout from new global tariffs to advance a blatantly racist redistribution agenda under the guise of economic support. Rather than providing genuine relief to all affected businesses, the government has diverted public funds exclusively to black-owned enterprises, flagrantly breaching constitutional equality and betraying South Africans of every race.

“This is more than misdirected policy – it is a cynical political manoeuvre designed to entrench racial divisions and reward political allies,” stated Dr Fundji Benedict , Founder & CEO at the Liberty Values & Strategy Foundation. “While ordinary exporters scramble to stay afloat, the ANC is doubling down on racial quotas and empowerment grants to cement its patronage network.”

Key Failures of the Government’s Tariff Response:

1. Racial Gatekeeping of Relief Funds
   – The Black Industrialists Scheme, Black Business Supplier Development Programme, and National Empowerment Fund collectively control the lion’s share of tariff relief—but all require a minimum 51% black ownership. Non-black firms, regardless of their economic contribution or employment footprint, are categorically excluded.
2. Violation of Constitutional Equality
   – Section 9 of the Constitution guarantees equal treatment under the law. The government’s race-exclusive design not only defies this principle but weaponises the state budget to discriminate against non-black citizens.
3. Risk to Jobs and Investment
   – By choking off support to a vast segment of exporters, the ANC risks mass retrenchments in non-black-led companies and undermines foreign and domestic investor confidence in South Africa’s rule of law and market fairness.

Foundation Demands Immediate Remedial Action:

• Scrap race-based relief programmes tied to B-BBEE criteria and replace them with a race-neutral emergency fund that allocates capital strictly on demonstrated impact, vulnerability, and job preservation metrics.
• Launch a judicial review of the tariff relief instruments to test their constitutionality and halt disbursements until compliance with equality provisions is assured.
• Initiate parliamentary hearings to interrogate the Treasury and Department of Trade, Industry and Competition over the political motivations and economic ramifications of these policies.

“The ANC has turned tariff adversity into a divisive wedge,” Dr Benedict added. “If the government truly cares about South Africa’s prosperity, it must abandon its race-first agenda and unite all citizens behind a merit-based recovery.”