By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has criticised the government for extending an invite to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to South Africa.
The party held a media briefing in Sandton on Friday to communicate outcomes from the meeting of its national high command.
Ukraine has long-awaited an invitation for a state visit from SA.
On 20 January, Ukrainian officials said that Pretoria had invited Zelensky to visit South Africa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Zelensky later met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland to discuss details of his potential visit to SA.
“The MK Party strongly condemns Ramaphosa’s misguided decision to invite Volodymyr Zelensky, a figure widely discredited among progressive and non-aligned nations,” said MK Party SG Shivambu during a media briefing on Friday.
He said the MK Party viewed the visit as “a clear alignment with European imperial interests” and a betrayal of South Africa’s historical stance of non-alignment and anti-imperialism.
“Accordingly, the party has resolved to formally oppose Zelensky’s visit. We will organise counter-demonstrations to express our solidarity with the Russian Federation and to denounce NATO-led militarism, Western proxy wars, and global imperialism,” he added.
Zelensky’s visit follows a tense meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, which ended with the temporary suspension of over $1 billion in U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
The move sparked concern across Europe, prompting leaders to explore alternative support options.
South Africa’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war has evolved since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Ramaphosa has repeatedly called for peace talks and engaged both sides diplomatically— and participating in the African Peace Initiative.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Zelensky’s visit was part of continued efforts to push for peace.
“Ramaphosa remains committed to a peaceful resolution. The visit is the result of ongoing engagements between Ramaphosa, Zelensky, and President Putin,” said Magwenya.
US Tariffs
Shivambu said the US tariffs on South Africa would hit the white farmers more because they are the biggest beneficiaries of trade with the US.
The biggest victim of racism of Elon Musk and his friend Donald Trump will be the Afrikaners who will be in bigger trouble with this increase of tariffs on South Africa,” he said.
Trump announced on Wednesday that all US imports will be subject to a base duty of 10%, with higher rates applied to 60 nations, including South Africa.
Shivambu stated that the US has long advocated against imposing tariffs on goods entering other countries.
“Now because this is a shift in the global balance of power, with China rising with proper manufacturing and capacity and producing meaningful goods and products.
“The Americans are the ones who are turning around to opt what they call protectionism or protecting their market against imports from other parts of the world,” he said.
Fiscal Framework
Shivambu further reiterated that the party would not be supporting a GNU budget, adding that they would not join the DA’s litigation against the fiscal framework.
For Wednesday’s budget vote, the MK Party’s parliamentary caucus had two abstentions and eight vacant seats it is yet to fill.
It can only fill the vacant seats in June after reaching the maximum amount of times a party can change its parliamentary list within a year.
Shivambu says the party wants to challenge this rule.
“There was no negligence on our part when it came to voting on the VAT dynamic and fiscal framework and proposals. We went full force, we opposed the proposals in the committee, the ANC tried to speak to public representatives in Parliament, they even tried to reach out to the leadership, and we told them that we would never agree to a fiscal framework that seeks to increase VAT.”
Shivambu says the official opposition party will challenge the VAT increase through a series of protests across the country.
By-Elections
In the recent by-elections, the MK Party won Ward 28 in the KwaDukuza Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
It is now in control of seven wards. It now plans to strengthen its local government machinery ahead of the 2026 polls.
The party will further finalize the modalities of their co-operation with the ATM.
“Recognising elections as the primary instrument through which the MK Party seeks to attain state power, the national high command resolved to significantly strengthen the elections’ unit. This will include the appointment of dedicated provincial and regional election coordinators under the direct leadership of the national head of elections to improve coordination, foster synergy, and ensure efficient allocation and sharing of resources, ” added Shivambu.