The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa has hit back against Donald Trump, the president of the United States, for threatening to stop supporting the African country after the latter accused it of “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly.”
The South African President stated this on Monday.
Trump had earlier announced on Sunday that he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people very badly. I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without giving examples.
“So, that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing–they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually, they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that,” he added.
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Ramaphosa responded on Monday through his X handle, stating that the government hasn’t “confiscated any land” and that the democratic country of South Africa upholds justice, equity, and the rule of law.
With regards to the funding cut as disclosed by Trump, Ramaphosa, while acknowledging the US as a significant “political and trade partner,” corrected that South Africa only benefits from the US-funded “PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme.”
His tweets read, “South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African Government has not confiscated any land.
“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.
“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners. 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 more common understanding of these matters.
“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. With the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States.”
According to AFP, the land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including the world’s wealthiest person, Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.
It noted that last month, Ramaphosa signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.
Pretoria argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach an agreement with the owner.
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.
