Washington D.C — The United States on Thursday directed the immediate implementation of President Donald Trump’s order to pause the foreign assistance to South Africa.
In a mandate signed by the secretary of state Marco Rubio, all state department entities are instructed to immediately suspend foreign aid disbursements in South Africa, as ordered by Executive Order 14204.
“To effectively implement EO 14204, all bureaus, offices and missions shall pause all obligations and/or dispersion of aid or assistance to South Africa,” the statement read.
The order cited unjust racial discrimination of the said country against white Afrikaners, who represent 7% of the population.
Under the order, only Pepfar, the US global HIV/Aids program that provides life-saving treatment to millions of South Africans will be able to proceed without additional review from the state department.
Hence, all other foreign assistance programs would require “special permission” from the state before it can proceed.
Aside from the alleged discrimination, Trump also cited South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, a US ally, as a reason of the funding cut off.