A recent report from the Hudson Institute, a conservative US think-tank, recommends targeted sanctions against senior ANC officials in South Africa to influence the country's behavior, rather than broad funding cuts.

Researcher Joshua Meservey suggests using the Magnitsky Act to impose visa bans, asset freezes, and transaction prohibitions on corrupt ANC leaders who oppose US interests. This approach aims to protect US-South Africa relations while pressuring the ANC without harming South African communities benefiting from programs like the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa).

The Hudson Institute suggests that the US could impose sanctions on ANC officials due to their links with sanctioned Russian oligarchs, like Viktor Vekselberg, and involvement in terrorism financing, including support for ISIS, Hamas, and Hezbollah. South Africa’s significant role in such activities led to its grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force in 2022.

Targeted sanctions could pressure the ANC, which is seen as corrupt and anti-Western, to prevent a breakdown in US-South Africa relations. This approach aims to maintain a functional relationship, block China from gaining a naval base, protect US investments, and support the Government of National Unity (GNU) against extremist parties, while deterring ANC officials from further anti-American actions.

The recommendation comes amid strained relations, highlighted by President Trump's decision to cut health program funding and the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador. Flip Buys, Chairman of Solidariteit, also promoted the use of the Magnitsky Act on ANC officials, while campaigning to dissuade America from imposing economic sanctions which would hurt ordinary South Africans.

The movement's recent visit to the US attracted significant backlash, along with unsubstantiated accusations of "disinformation" and "racism", as journalists across the South African media landscape have attempted to persuade the public that the Afrikaner representatives were attempting to engineer economic sanctions and were responsible for the foreign aid cuts, despite there being only evidence to the contrary.

The Magnitsky Act could impose a visa ban on sanctioned individuals, freezing their assets held in the US, and a ban on US citizens doing business with them. Meservey argued that Trump's recent cut to subsidies for public health programmes in South Africa was unlikely to change the ANC's behaviour.

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