South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe apologized for telling U.S. President Donald Trump that Africa loves him, but warned the growing perception that the continent is anti-America may hamper investment.

Motsepe’s remarks to Trump at a business dinner during the World Economic Forum in Davos last week sparked a debate among his countrymen who questioned his right to speak on behalf of the continent.

“I have a duty to listen to these differing views and would like to apologize,” Motsepe, the country’s only black billionaire and a brother-in-law of President Cyril Ramaphosa, said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “I do not have the right to speak on behalf of anybody except myself.”