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February 9, 2025

South Africa: Trump Threatens to Cut Aid to South Africa Over Land Expropriation

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to stop funding for South Africa due to the controversial law on land expropriation.

In his remarks on his platform Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that the government policies enabled it to confiscate property unfairly and said the South African authorities treated “certain classes of people very badly”.

“It is a bad situation… A massive human rights violation, at a minimum, is happening for all to see,” Trump wrote. “The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. I will be cutting all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.!”

This comes after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law facilitating state land expropriation, including provisions for equitable compensation. Under the controversial Expropriation Bill, state organs may expropriate land in the public interest along with strict guidelines for fair compensation.

The Bill repeals the apartheid-era Expropriation Act of 1975. Thousands of families were forcibly removed from their land to benefit people classified as white during the apartheid years.

During his first term, Trump said his government would investigate widespread killings of white farmers. South African-born Elon Musk is a close Trump ally and head of the Department of Government Efficiency has accused the government of creating a genocide of white people, despite the lack of evidence.

The South African government dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated.

Ramaphosa said in a statement issued by the presidency that South Africa is a constitutional democracy deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice, and equality, adding that the 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…”

Ramaphosa also said except for PEPFAR aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIV/Aids programme, there was no other significant funding provided by the United States.

“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,” he said.

By Melody Chironda

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