South Africa Hit Back At Trump Over Land Confiscation Claims
South Africa President, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday hit back at his United States, Donald Trump, over threat to cut off funding to the African.
Trump on Sunday accused the South African government of “confiscating land” and treating “certain classes of people” badly, without elaborating or providing evidence.
The US president had already announced a temporary freeze on almost all foreign assistance as part of his “America First” agenda, pausing billions of dollars in global funding.
On President Trump Truth Social handle, Trump vows to cut off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of the situation is complete.
Later, in a briefing with journalists, he accused South Africa’s leadership, without providing evidence or details, of doing “some terrible things, horrible things”.
Cyril Ramaphosa Response
In response, the South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said, “We trust President Trump’s advisers will make use of the investigative period to attain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s policies within the framework of a constitutional “It may become clear that our expropriation act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation,” it added.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa also denied that the government is confiscating land.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters,” Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
“South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality.”
President Ramaphosa added that, except for the US Aid programme for AIDS relief – PEPFAR, there is no other significant funding provided to South Africa by the US.
Elon Musk, a South Africa-born entrepreneur and close ally of Trump, also replied Ramaphosa, asking, “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?” without providing evidence.
Last month, Ramaphosa signed a bill into law that would make it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest to address racial disparities in land ownership after apartheid in 1994.
According to the government, the bill does not allow it to expropriate property arbitrarily; the landowner must reach an agreement.
However, some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.
