Mashatile urges farmers to stay in South Africa, promises to tackle safety issues

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile has pleaded with farmers at the NAMPO Harvest Day 2025 not to leave South Africa for the United States, promising to address their concerns, including safety and crime.

“Well, the farmers that we met here today are saying that they are happy to stay in South Africa and all they need is for us to work with them to address the challenges they face,” Mashatile said.

He made the remarks on Thursday while speaking with the media on the sidelines of the NAMPO Harvest Day.

The event is held at NAMPO Park in the Free State, which began on May 13 and is set to conclude on Friday.

Mashatile told journalists that the farmers at the event said they have no intention to leave South Africa for the US.

He also acknowledged that crime remains a pressing issue.

Mashatile urged those considering emigration to remain in the country.

White Afrikaners in South Africa have long expressed concerns about their safety, and Mashatile said the government must work with farmers to address their challenges.

“One of them is rural roads. They want us to work with them to deal with that,” he said.

“Then there’s rural safety, because we know over the years people in the farming communities have been attacked, crime is rife… They want us to work with them on that so that we can deal with those issues.”

“They want us to work with them to ensure access to markets, including international markets, and access to finance. Those are some of the things that they are saying to us: if you work with us on these issues, we have no problem, we are committed South Africans, we want to stay here, we are not going anywhere.”

“We do encourage those who are leaving to please stay, there’s no need to leave. Let’s work together (and) build this beautiful country together.”

Earlier this week, IOL News reported that 49 Afrikaners were granted asylum and arrived at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C, on Monday. 

The group departed South Africa via OR Tambo International Airport on a chartered Omni Air International flight.

They claimed they were fleeing discrimination and violence in South Africa, stirring international debate amid rising, though largely unsubstantiated, claims of persecution and farm murders targeting white South Africans.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has rubbished the claims that White Afrikaners emigrating to the US are legitimate refugees.

“We’ve raised our own concern because those people who are being enticed to go to the United States do not fit the definition of a refugee,” Ramaphosa said at the Africa CEO Forum event earlier this week.

“A refugee is someone who has to leave their country out of fear of political persecution, religious persecution, or economic persecution.”

He emphasised that those leaving are not being persecuted.

“They are not being, you know, hounded. They are not being treated badly. They are leaving ostensibly because they don’t want to embrace the changes that are taking place in our country in accordance with our constitution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa is scheduled to visit the US on May 21 to meet with Trump at the White House.

According to the South African presidency, the four-day working visit aims to “reset the strategic relationship” between the two countries and to counter negative narratives about South Africa’s racial dynamics.

Trump has previously stated that white farmers are being “brutally killed” and having their land “confiscated” in South Africa, comments that drew international criticism and concern over misinformation.

During his visit, Ramaphosa is expected to reaffirm his administration’s commitment to a nonracial, inclusive democracy and address the global discourse surrounding white Afrikaner emigration and asylum.