- Donald Trump threatens to cease all funding to South Africa.
- South African-born Elon Musk against Expropriation Law.
- South Africa says the new law is just and seeks land equality in the wake of apartheid.
Donald Trump and his advisor, Elon Musk, have threatened to cease all aid to South Africa over its Expropriation Law. The move comes after South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed an Expropriation Bill into law this January a move that does not sit well with Trump and Musk, an American billionaire who was born in South Africa.
South Africa says the law, seeks to empower the state to conduct land expropriation to provide equitable compensation to those who lost their land under the infamous apartheid regime. “The land expropriation law seeks to repeal the apartheid-era Expropriation Act (1975) which saw thousands of African families forcibly removed from their land to benefit the white minority,” explains a South African media communique.
That is not the way Trump sees it; US President Trump describes South Africa’s land expropriation law as ‘controversial’ and claims it enables authorities in Pretoria to confiscate land “unfairly” and to treat “certain classes” “very badly.” Worse still, Trump says his government will investigate the alleged “widespread killings of white farmers in South Africa.”
Unconfirmed reports say Musk has something to do with Trump’s spiked interest in South African affairs. Elon Musk is, after all, a US government special employee and a close Trump ally who now works as Head of the Department of Government Efficiency. With this mandate, Musk has accused the government of South Africa of carrying out a genocide of white people.
The South African government has dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated; “South Africa is a constitutional democracy deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice, and equality…the government has not confiscated any land,” South Africa’s president Ramaphosa told the press.
“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,” he explained.
He added; “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…” he went on to detail.
The South African president remained diplomatic in his statement and welcomed the U.S. for talks; “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 remained confident.
It remains to be seen whether Musk, will be willingly welcoming to the proposed ‘sit down.’ Musk, who has, among other duties, been tasked by President Trump to downsize the U.S. federal government, is looking to shut down the U.S. global aid agency USAID which, notably, conducts huge aid programs in Africa worth millions of dollars every year.
However, according to Trump, perhaps under the influence of Musk, South Africa is guilty of “massive human rights violation, at a minimum, and is happening for all to see.” Trump accused Ramaphosa’s government of allegedly being dishonest and insists that “land is being taken” under the guise of a “constitutionally mandated legal process.”
“They are taking away land, they are confiscating land and doing things perhaps worse than that,” Trump stated, adding, “The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Also Read: Nowhere to turn: Africans brace for mass deportations under Trump
Trump, Musk: Expropriation Law South Africa 2024
The Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 is South Africa’s new law designed to govern the expropriation, that is the compulsory acquisition of private property by the government for public purposes or in the public interest.
The passing of the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 followed the required parliamentary process that dates back to 2020. The act repeals the apartheid-era Expropriation Act 63 of 1975 and aims to align expropriation law with the constitution.
“It sets out the procedures, rules, and regulations for expropriation. Besides setting out in quite a detailed fashion how expropriations are to take place, the act also provides an outline regarding how compensation is to be determined,” explains the government of South Africa.
It further explains that, due to the South African colonial and apartheid past, “…land distribution was grossly unequal based on race…so expropriation of property is a potential tool to reduce land inequality. This has become a matter of increasing urgency. South Africans have expressed impatience with the slow pace of land reform.”
Now that the government of South Africa is looking to address this core internal problem in a just and diplomatic manner, the U.S. is calling it ‘“confiscation of land” and even goes as far as accusing South Africa of treating “certain classes of people badly.”
The political party, ActionSA, strongly rejected Donald Trump’s take on the Expropriation Law saying it; “…notes with concern the reckless remarks made by US President Donald Trump threatening punitive measures against South Africa for what he claims to be widespread land confiscations and human rights violations.”
And as for Trump’s advisers on the matter, ActionsSA says; “…the claims of and confiscations and human rights violations on which Trump based his remarks are without foundation. This reflects a real concern about the counsel the US President is receiving.”
“Given the role that the US President plays in global affairs, it must be incumbent upon President Trump to receive more balanced counsel on matters on South Africa. As South Africans, we take our hard-won sovereignty very seriously and do not appreciate clumsy attempts to change our country based on the agendas of those around the President…”
South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation beseeched the Trump administration to investigate before taking action; “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 democracy.”
As for Trump’s threat to seize funding to South Africa, his advisers again failed to inform the U.S. president what South African President Ramaphosa made very clear; “except for the US Aid program for AIDS relief – PEPFAR, no other significant funding is provided to South Africa by the US.”