Warning Sirens Over South Africa

South Africa’s support for Russia, Hamas and China certainly merits termination of its special trade benefits. The U.S. should also impose corruption sanctions on the South African officials who have looted billions of dollars from South Africa’s state treasury, leaving eight million South African children hungry, 27.5% of South Africa’s children (5.8 million) stunted due to malnutrition, and all South Africa’s citizens suffering through daily power blackouts of up to 12 hours, days at a time without running water, and one of the world’s worst-performing school systems.

Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor should have to answer for the South African children left hungry by her own colleagues’ looting of South Africa’s treasury. Just as Americans once stood with South Africa’s people against a government that discriminated on the basis of race, we should now stand with them to ensure their leaders stop engaging in corruption at their expense.

Orde F. Kittrie is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.