MBALULA SLAMS US 'MADNESS'

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has slammed the United States' plan to create refugee centres for Afrikaners in Pretoria as “madness”.

IOL reported on Monday that the US has deployed multiple teams to convert offices into an ad hoc refugee centre housing for thousands of Afrikaners.

Speaking at a media briefing in Luthuli House on Tuesday, Mbalula said the US was making unfounded claims against the South African government.

He said: “This thing that there is genocide in South Africa is a total unfounded fabrication.

“The refugee centres, that is just madness that you can build refugee centres in a country as peaceful as South Africa and claim people are being subjected to genocide.

“The real genocide is happening there in the Middle East, that is what needs to be curtailed and even worked with everybody to find a solution.”

According to a report by The New York Times, the Trump administration is spearheading an initiative dubbed “Mission South Africa,” aimed at relocating white Afrikaners who claim to be facing challenges in South Africa. The process will be rolled out in phases.

The teams are reportedly studying more than 8 200 requests expressing interest in resettling to the US. 

Reports claim that the Trump administration as already identified 100 Afrikaners who could be approved for refugee status.

US officials stationed in South Africa are expected to present comprehensive, long-term strategies by mid-April to ensure the effective implementation of the President’s vision for the dignified resettlement of eligible Afrikaner applicants.

Meanwhile, Trump suffered a setback domestically on Tuesday night as voters elected a liberal judge to US state Wisconsin's Supreme Court, despite his powerful advisor Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls.

SA-born billionaire Musk staged a rally in Green Bay in an all-out effort to lodge a new Republican. 

But liberal judge Susan Crawford came out ahead of Trump-backed Brad Schimel, according to US media.