Controversy escalates over South Africa's receipt of millions in US benefits while maintaining close ties with Iran, Russia, and Hamas.

South Africa is facing criticism for spending millions of dollars on negotiations with Hamas and Russia and Iran, with some arguing that the funds would be better used to address domestic issues.

The high unemployment rate, rampant crime, and widespread corruption in South Africa have resulted in Johannesburg experiencing no water for 10 out of the past 11 days and the country facing power blackouts of between four and 11 hours a day.

The South African government, led by the ANC, has breached the condition that AGOA beneficiaries should not harm U.S. national security and foreign policy, and, specifically with regard to Hamas, has violated the requirement that AGOA beneficiaries should not support acts of international terrorism, as stated by Kittrie, who was previously a State Department attorney and official.

"The AGOA law mandates that the Biden administration must terminate South Africa's AGOA benefits unless the required activities cease."

South Africa's diplomatic moves, such as allowing Russian ships to engage in war games and permitting a Russian arms ship to dock at a military base, have drawn the attention of Sen. Tim Scott, a ranking Republican member of the Senate subcommittee on Africa and a member of the Senate subcommittee on banking.

In a recent statement, Scott stated that South Africa has hosted sanctioned Russian ships, strengthened ties with Iran, and issued statements opposing Israel's right to defend itself after Hamas' recent terrorist attacks.

In 2023, South Africa received $660 million in aid from Washington, according to the USAID dashboard.

Herman Mashaba, president of ActionSA, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the ruling party prioritizes Cold War-era alliances over the interests of the South African people. This close relationship with Russia has put South Africa at risk of losing investment and jobs, which cannot be afforded.

"In South Africa, 86 people are killed per day and a woman is raped every 11 minutes. Despite being in power for 30 years, the ruling party has not addressed these crises and instead focuses on everything else except finding solutions to these problems."

The State Department weighed in.

"Russia is engaged in a vicious conflict against the Ukrainian people, and we are consistently working to undermine Putin's war apparatus and limit his ability to wage this war, a department spokesperson stated. Additionally, we have implored nations to refrain from supporting Russia's war efforts."

All countries should condemn Hamas, being a designated terrorist organization, and deserve such condemnation.

As an associate editor of The Daily Maverick and a former U.S. diplomat, J. Brooks Spector expressed his concerns to Planet Chronicle Digital.

"If South Africa does not qualify for AGOA, it may face the possibility of reduced or even terminated PEPFAR funding for combating HIV/AIDS, as funds are redirected to other countries."

"South Africa's failure to condemn Russia's illegal invasion is intellectually dishonest, considering the funding the ANC receives from Russian-linked oligarchs and companies, which is leading to the country's increasing isolation."

South Africa's diverse behavior poses a risk of becoming irrelevant internationally, both as a politically significant country and a valuable investment and trade partner, except with China.

The systemic corruption in South Africa has been exposed, with hundreds of senior politicians and businessmen, mainly affiliated with the ruling ANC, implicated in the 5,000-page State Capture report. However, despite the evidence, very few have been prosecuted.

FDD’s Kittrie cautioned that many Washington foreign policy insiders are now viewing the ANC for the first time since Mandela's retirement as a party whose rampant financial corruption has impoverished South Africa's people and led it to ally itself with America's enemies, including Russia, Iran, and Hamas.

This week, Sen. Tim Scott tweeted that the US must address corruption in South Africa and ensure AGOA reauthorization eligibility requirements are enforced.

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Not a single high-profile individual has been prosecuted two years after the State Capture Report was submitted, according to Action SA's Mashaba.

South Africans with dual nationality who are fighting for Israel in Gaza will be arrested upon their return, as announced by South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor last week.

During her upcoming visit to Washington this week, Foreign Minister Pandor may encounter some challenging inquiries from analysts.

In May's upcoming elections, the ANC is predicted to lose its sole and majority power in South Africa, according to a recent poll by the Brenthurst Foundation. The party is expected to receive only 39% of the vote. It is likely that the ANC will form a coalition with the "revolutionary" EFF, the Economic Freedom Fighters, analysts predict.

According to the EFF's election manifesto, it intends to seize White-owned farmland without any form of compensation.

Julius Malema, EFF leader, stated at the manifesto launch that the EFF never promised not to take land from White people and do not owe them anything.

The EFF cautioned 600 U.S. companies operating in South Africa that if their American employees disapprove of the EFF's policies, they can depart immediately.