If completed, the award would give the prominent Afrikaner advocacy organisation direct financial support from the US government as President Donald Trump expands Washington’s intervention in South Africa’s domestic racial and political disputes.
However, the grant has not been publicly finalised or disbursed. AfriForum said its understanding was that the allocation remained incomplete and promised to issue an announcement if it received the award.
The US State Department first advertised the $986,500 programme on August 6, but the official notice did not name AfriForum or identify any successful applicant.
According to ProPublica’s disclosure, AfriForum is expected to receive the money, citing several people familiar with the funding process.
AfriForum told the publication that “the allocation has not yet been finalised,” adding that it would make a public announcement if the money was awarded.
What the $986,500 would finance
The funding comes from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
The official notice provides for one cooperative agreement worth $986,500, with a performance period of between 15 and 18 months. The figure represents the programme’s total funding ceiling—not money already paid to AfriForum.
The selected organisation would document hateful rhetoric and violent acts affecting minority communities, assess access to justice and police protection and examine broader patterns of violence across South Africa.
It would also create a record of violence involving Afrikaners and other minority populations and develop recommendations intended to improve equal protection under South African law.
The funding could cover research, personnel, travel, training, equipment and other project costs. It is not a compensation fund for individual crime victims or Afrikaner families.
The State Department has not publicly confirmed AfriForum as the recipient. In its response to ProPublica, an official said the department did not comment on funding deliberations but defended the administration’s focus on alleged racial discrimination and violence in South Africa.
From halting aid to funding Afrikaner research
The proposed award would become the latest step in Trump’s increasingly confrontational policy towards South Africa.
On February 7, 2025, Trump ordered US departments and agencies to halt aid and assistance to South Africa to the maximum extent permitted by law. The executive order also directed officials to prioritise humanitarian support and refugee admission for Afrikaners whom Washington considers victims of racial discrimination.
Later that month, representatives of AfriForum and the wider Solidarity Movement met senior Trump administration officials at the White House.
The delegation asked Washington to increase pressure on African National Congress leaders over racial legislation, land policy, Afrikaans education and political rhetoric. It also requested support for Afrikaners who wanted to remain in South Africa rather than relocate to the United States.
The Trump administration has since informed Congress that it plans to admit as many as 17,500 refugees, primarily white South Africans from the Afrikaner community, during the new fiscal year.
Washington has also imposed visa restrictions connected to what it describes as race-based discrimination in South Africa.
South Africa’s government has rejected Trump’s characterisation of Afrikaners as victims of systematic state persecution. It argues that the country’s violent crime affects all racial groups and that its land and empowerment policies seek to correct inequalities inherited from apartheid.
Why the grant carries consequences beyond $986,500
The proposed award is modest compared with the broader financial relationship between the United States and South Africa. Its political significance, however, extends well beyond its monetary value.
Direct US government funding could strengthen AfriForum’s capacity to document farm attacks, lobby international policymakers and promote its interpretation of South Africa’s racial and security conditions.
It could also deepen the diplomatic divide between Washington and Pretoria because the proposed research concerns the same allegations Trump has used to justify aid restrictions, refugee preferences and other measures against South Africa.
AfriForum remains the expected recipient, rather than a confirmed beneficiary of a completed payment. The grant should only be treated as final once the State Department publishes an award notice or AfriForum confirms receipt.
Source: africa.businessinsider.com
