UNITED STATES REVEALS FIVE DEMANDS FOR SOUTH AFRICA ABOUT BEE, EXPROPRIATION, AND “KILL THE BOER”
- BEE NEWS
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Staff Writer | 10 March 2026
United States Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, says Washington is running out of patience with Pretoria’s lack of action on what he called a ‘list of five asks’ delivered to Pretoria a year ago.
These ‘asks’ were first reported in June 2025, based on feedback from a delegation of Afrikaner leaders who met with senior White House officials at the time.
While the South African government acknowledged “political” and “ideological” differences that had emerged in official trade negotiations with the United States, it never acknowledged a list of ‘asks’.
However, Bozell has now confirmed that these were official requests given to Pretoria, with little done since to meet them.
Speaking at the Biznews Conference in Hermanus, Bozell said that he has been in the country in his official capacity for three-and-a-half weeks and has already learned of the complexity of “the situation” here.
However, he said he has also learned that the South African government is not internally aligned on how it wants to deal with international partners and support businesses.
“You learn that there are those in the government who want to see the business community succeed,” he said. “There are also those in the government who, frankly, don’t want to see it succeed.”
Bozell said the United States’ position has been very firm, and that he wasn’t going to tiptoe around issues the US views as critical to continued relations with South Africa.
“We put together five asks. We put them forward to the South African government. We’ve been waiting for almost a year for a response, and as I’ve made clear in meetings that I’ve had, we’re running out of patience,” he said.
“We believe that it becomes a statement by the South African government when it doesn’t want to respond to simple questions that we have.”
The five “asks” reflect the same demands put forward last year, with the added demand for critical minerals cooperation:
Protecting rural communities from violence, referring to the globally publicised farm attacks. In 2025, the US wanted this to become a priority crime focus.
Condemning rhetoric that incites hatred and glorifies violence, referring to the infamous “kill the boer” chant. The US wants the government to publicly condemn this.
Ensuring appropriation policies include fair and clear compensation standards, referring to the government’s move to normalise “nil” compensation in new expropriation laws.
Ending mandatory surrender of ownership or control of corporate decision-making as a cost of one’s own business, referring to South Africa’s strict BEE policies.
Expanding digital and critical minerals cooperation, referring to bettering trade relations.
“These are achievable, practical and beneficial to both Americans and South Africans,” Bozell said.
Not backing down
Bozell said that the “kill the boer” chant is a “war chant”, and regardless of what South Africa’s courts say, he considers it hate speech.
Regarding BEE, he said that broad-based black economic empowerment is designed to expand opportunity and correct historic injustice, which are important goals.
“But when those policies are structured in ways that introduce challenges to ownership or create complex compliance requirements or are clouded in charges of corruption, investors begin to reassess risk,” he said.
The ambassador said the five “asks” generally address the business environment in South Africa and issues of safety and social cohesion.
Politically, however, he said that the United States also wants South Africa to become non-aligned, with concerns around the country’s “growing engagement with some of America’s greatest adversaries”.
He also singled out the African National Congress (ANC), flagging a “growing antagonism” between the once-majority party and Washington.
“These issues shape investor confidence. They shape strategic trust, and they shape the trajectory of our bilateral relationship,” he said.
“When businesses believe their property rights may be uncertain, when policy frameworks create unpredictability instead of clarity, and when strategic alignments appear to drift towards regimes that do not share our democratic values, common ground becomes harder to sustain.”
“Honest partners must be able to say this out loud,” he said.
‘Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the BEE CHAMBER’.