Cyril poked the eye of the bear – Col. Chris Wyatt

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa poked "the bear in the eye" and gave "the middle finger" to the US when he signed the Land Expropriation Bill. This was the reaction from US inteligence analyst Retired Colonel Chris Wyatt to the announcement by President Donald Trump that he was cutting US funding for South Africa. Reacting to subsequent news that Ramaphosa was looking forward to meeting Trump, Colonel Wyatt said: "But he wasn't asking or hoping to meet with Trump 24 hours ago. Now, was he? Isn't that strange how one tweet changes the entire game? So, you know, Trump is playing three dimensional chess and the ANC is playing checkers. Who do you think is going to win." Col. Wyatt maintains that South Africa also doesn't deserve the benefits of the AGOA – and charges that the African National Congress (ANC) "runs around like there are no consequences to their actions". He predicts there are tough times ahead for South Africa. "…We finally have a new sheriff in town who is not going to let America be taken for suckers…the ANC is ignoring us and we're giving you tons of resources and money and there's a risk to this. So I think what's happening here is that Trump has put down a shot across the bow to warn the ANC that we won't tolerate this.".Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Chris Steyn (00:01.642)South Africans were in for a shock this morning when they read what US President Donald Trump wrote last night. For those who haven't seen it, here it is:."South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly. It is a bad situation that the radical left media doesn't want to so much as mention. A massive human rights violation at a minimum is happening for all to see. The United States won't stand for it. We will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.".We speak to retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, an intelligence analyst from the US who woke up at three o'clock to be here with us. Welcome, Colonel..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (01:00.952)Well, Chris, thanks a lot. Actually, I didn't wake up. I've been up all night from the moment that Trump did this. About 40 minutes later, I was busy covering it, and I've done about six hours of broadcasting, so I'm still going..Chris Steyn (01:11.242)Well, thank you for staying awake for us. Chris, I'm sure you have plenty to say about this. You had warned that there would be consequences for South Africa..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (01:22.542)In fact, I did warn. I've been warning for a number of years. I warned in the Intelligence Committee when I worked there that this was going to be a problem eventually. When Cyril Ramaphosa came into office and this bill was introduced shortly after he became president—back into Parliament, where it had been voted down repeatedly year after year—and it gained traction this time, I said, "This is going to be a problem. This will be a bridge too far when it gets to that stage." People said, "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it." I said, "In fact, it will be a problem.".There's a lot of issues with this. And first, let me state the following, Chris. A lot of South Africans are losing their minds right now. And the bottom line is this: South Africa is a sovereign state and is welcome to take whatever decisions it likes. If its government chooses to pass an unconstitutional law that violates Section 25 of its Constitution regarding just, fair, and equitable compensation for expropriation, that is its prerogative. It is unconstitutional, but it's not our place to interfere..However, South Africa has worked against US national security interests, which we've talked about in the past—Lady R, Russia, Ukraine. The list goes on—its chumminess with Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow. But when it does this, it violates the spirit and the intent of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). It also violates the agreements we have for donating funds to help South Africans with HIV, tuberculosis, and many other things. This is too far. We finally have a new sheriff in town who is not going to let America be taken for suckers. So if South Africa doesn't want this money, it won't get it. Sadly, this is going to hurt South Africans, not the ANC..Chris Steyn (02:47.670)But you have felt all along that South Africa does not deserve AGOA..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (02:53.294)I did. In fact, I've said for a long time that South Africa has disqualified itself. The mere introduction of this piece of legislation in 2018 should have had South Africa removed to send a message. But we didn't do it under Trump. We didn't do it under Biden. And the ANC runs around like there are no consequences to their actions. It reminds me of, "But I have free speech, but I have free speech." Well, yelling fire in a crowded theatre isn't free speech; it's a public safety hazard. And you pay a consequence for that. There are consequences to your actions. Look, this isn't punishing South Africa..We're just not obliged to give you money if you're doing things we don't agree with. We're not suckers anymore, and Trump is taking action. I don't understand why a lot of people are upset, but I know it's coming today. There will be a big backlash, but too bad..Chris Steyn (03:35.766)But do you think the ANC, at the end of the day, will really care or change its ways.Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (03:42.626)Well, it depends on how seriously they take it. Let me put it in this perspective. Trump has been accused of being willy-nilly in using sanctions or threats of sanctions. But what has happened?.Trump threatened sanctions against Canada and Mexico. And Juicy Trudeau—I mean Justin Trudeau—threw in the towel and decided to resign as prime minister. That's actually a good development for Canadians and something Trump is probably happy about. Their sanctions did go into effect on the first, and hopefully, they'll have their intended effect and won't last very long..Mexico refused to take back its nationals who were in our country illegally until Trump threatened 25% tariffs. Suddenly, Claudia Scheinbaum opened up camps and started processing migrants who were illegal aliens sent back there. Colombia's president, Gustavo Petro, after approving US repatriation flights with military aircraft, thought he'd be clever and say, "Oh, we're disapproving this." Only for Trump, on the golf course, to pull out his mobile phone, send a tweet, apply 25% sanctions on all exports, and block all visas for diplomats from Colombia. Within an hour, Colombia backed down..Now Panama, which has been allowing the Chinese to get involved with the Panama Canal, had sanctions threatened against them. Today, Panama backed down. The Chinese have lost all contact with the Panama Canal..So I think sanctions can have an effect. Will they affect the ANC? I don't know. I think the only way to get the ANC's attention is to put sanctions on the leaders so they can't travel or do things. I think that's the way you actually have an impact on them. I'm not calling for that, but I think what's happening now is this: I've heard tonight that Marco Rubio, our Secretary of State, will be coming to South Africa in three weeks. This has allowed a window to open. South Africa ignored the US when Ambassador Brigety tried to get its attention for six months. Then he went public with the Lady R news story, and they finally took notice..The ANC is ignoring us, yet we are giving them tons of resources and money. There's a risk to this. I think Trump has sent a shot across the bow to warn the ANC that we won't tolerate this—violating their own laws, their Constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which South Africa is a signatory. So this is not acceptable. I suspect that today or tomorrow, South Africa may find itself suspended from AGOA as another measure..Read more: De Beer: Cyril & John lunch; Pieter & Corné in conflict; Cabinet "criminals"; the valour "stolen" by MKP & SANDF General – and Kagame's "war" talk….Chris Steyn (06:40.778)But meanwhile, anti-Western proponents would argue, "Good riddance." South Africa has the backing of China, Russia, and BRICS countries. Surely it could survive..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (06:53.624)Well, okay, sure. But what exactly have China, Russia, India, and Brazil provided vis-a-vis HIV money? The United States has given South Africa $8.1 billion—150 billion rand—since 2003. That's 150 billion rand the ANC didn't have to devote to taking care of its citizens. If you think China will provide that, go ahead. Not going to happen. If you think China will advocate for you at the IMF and World Bank, good luck..Not giving South Africa $500 million a year doesn't hurt the US—it hurts South Africans, and that's who's going to pay the price..Chris Steyn (08:14.314)Colonel, do you think there's more behind this tweet? Perhaps also South Africa's stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine and its anti-Israeli stance?.Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (08:25.386)I think that South Africa was already in for a rude awakening when it comes to AGOA once Trump took office. But I think that would have come a little further down the line. I do believe that the stance against Israel and the bogus case of genocide against it at the International Court of Justice did play a role in this. But I think the real issue—the proximate cause of why this occurred now—is that Cyril Ramaphosa saw Donald Trump, congratulated him on being sworn in, and they had a cordial phone call where everything seemed great and fine. Then Cyril runs off and pokes the bear in the eye..Okay, well, we're friends. Here's expropriation without compensation. We're going to confiscate property from our citizens with no compensation, despite the fact that our constitution tells us we have to do that..Now, Trump's tweet hints at and indicates a class of people. To me, that class of people is property owners. And property isn't just land—it's houses, stocks, bonds, pension funds, cars, bakkies, jewelry, Krugerrands—it's all of that. They can take anything at any time. And I guarantee you that the first two steps, when they get a chance, will be to come after pension funds. "Oh, we need 10% because we don't have enough money." They'll take that..And the other thing they're going to come after is any political opponents. If you speak out against the ruling government of the day, you'll get a phone call or a visit: "Hey, maybe you should stop talking about the government. We're tired of hearing about it." Oh, you like your pension fund? It won't be there next week. And I think that's going to have the chilling effect that's desired—silenced speech..Chris Steyn (09:51.722)Looking at the language of that tweet, it clearly was his own words without any diplomatic intervention there, Chris. So he must have been hugely triggered by something our president said or did..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (10:06.328)Well, I think signing that thing at Davos was really giving the middle finger to the US. Ramaphosa and the ANC know that the US expects respect for property rights. It's enshrined in AGOA and is a norm for what we do around the world..We have something similar to what you have in South Africa. Section 25 allows for expropriation with compensation. We have eminent domain—the government can take your property with just compensation, but it has to be in the public interest. Now, that has been abused from time to time in America by authorities, and I recognize that..But in South Africa, you have expropriation without compensation. There's no reason whatsoever for the government to expropriate property. Chris, there's no reason—none. The money is there. It has been a lame, half-hearted attempt to do land restitution. The facts of the matter are never discussed publicly because South Africans are afraid to say something, or they just aren't willing to discuss this issue. But there were 75,000-plus land claims filed in the legitimate period from 1994 to 1999. That was the window. Over 74,000 of those land claims were resolved more than 20 years ago. Most were financial compensation..And we can debate whether it was fair compensation. In many cases, I'd say maybe it wasn't—that's a fair point, but it's a separate topic. There are only a little over 1,000 land claims left, and the ANC has refused to settle those because they're competing and contending claims where land ownership is unclear. So those remain unresolved..Now, when Zuma came in, he illegitimately opened another window over a decade ago, and another 141,000 land claims were submitted. Most of them were bogus. They were redundant. There were claims for land that had already been settled..This is a red herring, the land issue. Land is an issue, but most South Africans want land for a house, a tuck shop, a stand, or a business. They're not looking to be farmers. The ANC wants to put a million Black South Africans into subsistence farming. The world is going in the other direction, Chris. Automation, AI, robotics—there aren't many people working on farms in much of the world anymore. It's all industrial scale now, and subsistence farmers aren't going to make money. Putting people on farms at a subsistence level makes them perpetually dependent on the state. And that is what the ANC wants. But this is going to backfire spectacularly—it already has. And I can't wait to see what Cyril Ramaphosa has to say..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (12:15.902)Ronnie Lamola went out and tried to parse this, saying, "Well, you just don't understand our system." We can read modern standard written English, Ronnie. I've read your constitution, and I know what it says. You are very much mistaken. You are violating the law, and you think the world is going to look the other way. Well, Trump is the new sheriff in town. He's in his second term. He's 78 years old, he's full of vigor, and he's not putting up with fools—and you're one of them..Chris Steyn (00:01.348)Okay, now we've just heard that President Cyril Ramaphosa is looking forward to meeting President Donald Trump. What do you say to that?.Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (00:12.942)Well, yeah, it's fascinating news. Again, sanctions and threats of sanctions seem to get people's attention. Now Ramaphosa is looking forward to meeting Donald Trump, wants to engage with him. So we'll see if that happens, Chris. I think Trump might tell him, "No, talk to the hand, not the face right now," and make him wait until Rubio shows up in South Africa in a few weeks. I think that might be the case. And again, I think there's going to be more trouble coming South Africa's way—but we'll see..You know, look, South Africa is a constitutional democracy rooted in the rule of law, justice, and equality. That's what South Africa's government says—except it's not. When you expropriate people's property without compensation, that's not just, that's not right. It also violates your constitution..So we'll see if Ramaphosa meets with Trump. That's what he wants to do. This just broke. News24 reported this a short while ago, and other media outlets are reporting that Ramaphosa wants to meet with Trump. But he wasn't asking or hoping to meet with Trump 24 hours ago, was he? Isn't it strange how one tweet changes the entire game? Trump is playing three-dimensional chess, and the ANC is playing checkers. Who do you think is going to win?.Chris Steyn (01:22.246)Thank you. That was retired US Army Colonel Chris Wyatt, also an intelligence analyst, speaking to BizNews after Trump made his move against South Africa. And I am Chris Steyn. Thank you, Colonel..Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (01:36.846)You're very welcome. Have a good day..Read also:.Corrigan on EWC: For a good law, get the facts right firstMusk and Trump Target USAID: Billions in aid Frozen, agency on brink of collapseRW Johnson: Huawei, Beijing's eyes and ears – and gullible African leaders

Cyril poked the eye of the bear – Col. Chris Wyatt

Related Stories

Our daughter was stabbed with enough force to kill a wild bear… | Paul and Sue Sullivan

The retirement system’s unfair bet and how you can improve the outcome: Fred van der Vyfer, Old Mutual

Criminals - NOT cops - patrol SA’s streets of fear… | Lisa Schickerling

Neal Froneman on his bid to bring Formula One back to South Africa