President Cyril Ramaphosa says his administration will continue to push for transformation in the country. Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Ramaphosa says the 49 white Afrikaners who have left for the US are not facing any persecution in South Africa.

The group arrived at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington DC to a warm welcome from senior officials of the US Departments of State and Homeland Security.

They are the first beneficiaries of US refugee status after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in February seeking to address so-called “egregious actions of the Republic of South Africa”.

VIDEO | 49 white Afrikaners arrive in the US, President Ramaphosa refutes genocide claims:

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola says the Afrikaner group that took a decision to leave for the US does not qualify for refugee status.

Lamola says all citizens in the country are treated equally.

“From the perspective of the South African government in terms of the executive orders that have defined the refugees, the South Africans as refugees we have stated in the statement, we issued on Friday that in line with the international definition they do not qualify for that status and there is no persecution of White Afrikaner South Africans in South Africa. This has been proved by a number of statistics in our country including police reports.

VIDEO | A warm welcome for 49 Afrikaners by US senior officials