Zuma: 'We refuse to have our problems fixed by Americans we don’t even know'
Former President Jacob Zuma has taken a thinly veiled swipe at the South African delegation that recently visited Washington, DC to lobby investment from US President Donald Trump's administration.
US President Donald Trump meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on 21 May 2025. Picture: Jim WATSON/AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Former President Jacob Zuma has taken a thinly veiled swipe at the South African delegation that recently visited Washington, DC to lobby investment from US President Donald Trump's administration.
Speaking to MK Party supporters in KwaMaphumulo, south of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend, Zuma weighed in on May's working visit led by President Cyril Ramaphosa and four ministers in Pretoria's attempt to reset bilateral ties.
The visit followed an onslaught by Trump and his administration on South Africa's foreign and domestic equity laws, straining relations between the two countries to an all-time low.
During talks, the delegation rebuffed claims of a genocide, calling on Trump to assist with technology-driven reinforcements to help arrest SA's escalating crime levels.
Zuma briefly criticised the visit during his address to supporters.
"You can go to America for all we care but we refuse to have our problems fixed by Americans we don’t even know. We want to fix our own problems."