The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting certain South African nationals linked to the enactment or implementation of the country’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and expropriation policies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures target individuals who are “responsible for, or complicit in, the enactment or implementation of” the policies.
The restrictions are not a blanket ban on South Africans travelling to the United States. Instead, they apply to specific individuals accused of involvement in policies concerning uncompensated land seizures, race-based discrimination and the incitement of imminent violence against members of minority ethnic or racial groups in South Africa.
Rubio said the move was being implemented as part of US President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Addressing Egregious Actions of the Republic of South Africa”.
The order has raised concerns in Washington over South Africa’s land reform policies, including the country’s approach to expropriation, as well as aspects of its employment and economic empowerment legislation.
South Africa’s BEE framework was introduced to address economic inequalities created during apartheid and seeks to increase participation and ownership by historically disadvantaged South Africans.
The two countries have also differed over land reform, with South Africa maintaining that its policies are aimed at addressing historical inequalities in land ownership.
The latest visa restrictions add to tensions between Washington and Pretoria, but they do not prevent South Africans generally from travelling to the United States.