Senator Kennedy, don’t punish the people of SA for the government’s failures – IRR

US Senator John Kennedy and his colleagues in the United States Congress must distinguish clearly between the interests of South Africa’s political elites and those of ordinary, moderate citizens should Washington consider punitive measures arising from South Africa’s foreign or domestic policy choices.

This is the message the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) has conveyed in a letter to Senator Kennedy in light of his recent introduction to the Senate of the U.S.–South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Bill, a law seeking consequences for broad concerns in Washington about the South African government’s stance on various matters.

The IRR’s letter, sent today and signed by Hermann Pretorius, IRR Head of Strategic Communications, seeks to dissuade Congress from enacting “broad punitive measures” that would punish South Africa’s battered middle class and working poor, while leaving the crony elite and those in power unscathed. The letter makes a simple but urgent argument: South Africans are not their government.

Says Pretorius: “Ordinary South Africans are not the architects of anti-Western foreign policy and anti-growth domestic policy. They are victims of it. Survey after survey shows the people of this country want jobs, opportunity, and partnership with the free world – not ideological adventurism, racial nationalism, or economic sabotage.”

Drawing on extensive polling data, the IRR’s letter outlines the gulf between public sentiment and government policy. Key findings include:

• 84% of South Africans support merit-based hiring over race quotas;
• Over 80% demand value-for-money procurement, not BEE-style crony contracts;
• Nearly 70% reject the Expropriation Act, a cornerstone of ANC economic dogma;
• And when asked where they’d rather live, South Africans overwhelmingly choose the West over China, Russia or Cuba.

As detailed in the IRR’s internationally recognised Blueprint for Growth policy paper series, the way forward lies in pro-enterprise, pro-consumer, growth-first solutions, not more government meddling or wealth redistribution schemes.

Says Pretorius further: “South Africa’s future lies in pro-growth, pro-freedom, pro-enterprise reform. Washington must be clear-eyed: alienating the South African people with indiscriminate sanctions would play straight into the hands of the same crony elites that thrive on division and dysfunction. Instead, support the civic voices, entrepreneurs, and consumers who still believe in the free world.”

The IRR calls on US lawmakers to give prime consideration to targeted accountability measures for responsible officials, while expanding trade and investment ties with South Africa’s vibrant private sector. Supporting civic voices who stand for liberty, enterprise, and prosperity will do far more to promote these qualities than blanket trade penalties could.

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries:

Anneke Burns

IRR Public Relations

+27 71 423 0079

anneke@abpr.co.za