Afrikaner Foundation executive director Ernst Roets and self-proclaimed protagonist for Afrikaner self-determination recently launched the Pioneer Initiative, a think tank that is purportedly aiming towards a 'more sustainable political dispensation for South Africa'.

Talking to IOL, the controversial figure who takes a right-winged stance said the initiative, which he announced over the weekend, has been well-received by a diverse number of people.

Roets also emphasised that the project's focus will also be on Afrikaner self-governance and autonomy within the country.

"The support towards the Pioneer Initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. We already have hundreds of people contributing and supporters...It's not just from an Afrikaner perspective," he said.

In his announcement, the former deputy chief executive of AfriForum claimed that South Africa has a leadership vacuum, insinuating that he wants to shake up the political space. "The problem with a vacuum is that it tends to be naturally filled. And in South Africa, there are many bad actors eagerly seeking to fill the void."

He denied that the move could be interpreted as sowing the seeds for launching a political party.

"Never say never, but I can confidently say that it is not my plan because we believe that political parties operate within a particular system and framework," he said. "We are concerned that the system and framework are the problem."

According to Roets, it is better to work outside of the established system as it is politically centralised.

South Africa has a centralised governance with a constitutional democracy that has a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, namely, the national, provincial and local levels of Government.

"We need a political system in which the central government has significantly less power," Roets added.

Decentralisation constitutes the handover of political and financial authority from central to local governments.

Cape Independence, a secessionist political movement that seeks the independence of the Western Cape province from South Africa, could benefit from such a system.

A departure from a centralised government in the country could open doors to federalism, devolution, local governance, delegation, deconcentration, and traditional leaderships.

Roets said that SA has been implementing race-based policies that the West is flirting with.

The latest of such a policy could be the Expropriation Act, which has garnered a lot of criticism from US President Donald Trump.

"Terrible things are happening in South Africa. The leadership is taking away land, they're confiscating land, and they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that," Trump said.

This echoes Roets and AfriForum's sentiments.

Additionally, Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has had a resurgence of criticism. In the US, Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), organisational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, have been under fire in the Trump administration.

Succinctly expressing his views in January, Musk posted on X: "DEI means people DIE."

Both BEE and DEI are accused of giving black people an advantage.

"Many Western countries are talking about these types of ideas. In South Africa, we can already see what the consequences of this are," Roets continued.

He added that the Pioneer Initiative also aims to pump up info on how the country can become decentralised.

"It could mean more power to the province, South Africa becoming a federation, territorial or cultural autonomy."

Roets denied that the initiative is part of AfriForum or Solidarity.

He added: "I am an Afrikaner, and I want my people and community to be free. I want them to help high levels of self-governance over their affairs or autonomy, which we currently don't have."

xolile.mtembu@iol.co.za

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IOL EXCLUSIVE: Ernst Roets calls for Afrikaner freedom and autonomy in South Africa amid launch of 'Pioneer Initiative'