Donald Trump takes aim at South Africa

President Donald Trump has targeted South Africa for “confiscating land” and has said he will “cut off all future funding” while an investigation takes place.

He announced the move on his Truth Social site while seemingly referencing South Africa’s Expropriation Bill, which sets out the legal procedures for its government to expropriate private land for public purposes.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to Trump on X (formerly Twitter), saying he wants to “engage” with the U.S. He denied Trump’s claims about land being confiscated.

Newsweek has contacted the White House and the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, via email, for comment.

Why It Matters

President Trump has already issued a freeze on billions of dollars of foreign aid, a move that has hit Africa hard. Sub-Saharan Africa alone received $6.5 billion in humanitarian aid last year, according to the Associated Press.

Trump said on Sunday that South Africa will be targeted even further, but South African leader Ramaphosa has insisted that “with the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17 percent of South Africa’s HIV/Aids program, there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa.”

Newsweek has reported on PEPFAR and how its stoppage could lead to more than 100,000 babies being born with HIV, according to research from an AIDS foundation, here.

What To Know

Last month, Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 into South African law, replacing the apartheid-era Expropriation Act 63 of 1975.

Trump seemed to be referencing this when he wrote on Truth Social: “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. 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!”

Ramaphosa responded: “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.”

The South African president said: “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 common understanding over 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 HIV/Aids program, there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa.”

What Is South Africa’s Expropriation Bill?

The bill is supposed to be a tool to help South Africa correct the longstanding issue of the unequal distribution of land that took place during apartheid and colonization.

The legislation offers assurances that “an expropriating authority may not expropriate property arbitrarily or for a purpose other than a public purpose or in the public interest” and that “an expropriating authority must also attempt to reach an agreement on the acquisition of the property before resorting to expropriation.”

But this has not quelled everyone’s fears, including many South African farmers who cite the issues that came with Zimbabwe’s land reform.

“The signing of the Expropriation Bill poses a risk to private property rights which is the primary basis on which South African agriculture is structured,” the agricultural organization AgriSA said in a statement. “Consequently, the Bill poses a risk to agricultural sustainability and food security.”

“While supporting the need for transformation and land reform in the agricultural sector, AgriSA emphasizes that it must not come at the expense of the economy and investor confidence,” CEO Johann Kotzé said.

A major point of contention is Section 12(3) of the act, which refers to land being seized with “nil compensation,” an allowance that is only supposed to be used where it is “just and equitable and in the public interest.”

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: “Expropriation may not be exercised unless the expropriating authority has without success attempted to reach an agreement with the owner.”

What People Are Saying

Trump ally and businessman Elon Musk, a native of South Africa, shared the president’s Truth Social post with the caption “true” before he did the same with Ramaphosa’s X post, saying: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”

Musk also shared a post by Australian journalist Mario Nawfal, who wrote: “South African President Cyril Ramaphosa insists his government isn’t seizing land, just implementing a ‘constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.’

“He compares it to U.S land laws while assuring Trump’s administration that they’ll find ‘common understanding’ on the matter. Nothing to see here – just land being taken, but totally not confiscated.”

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture commented on the matter. The Netherlands has longstanding agricultural and trade relations with South Africa, a former Dutch colony, and has a historical connection to South Africa’s Afrikaans people. The Ministry said: “While land is a sensitive topic in South Africa and the passing of this bill has been divisive, it is clear that there is no immediate risk to land ownership security. This is an important outcome for the agriculture sector where land is a key asset.”

The Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government of National Unity, “strongly opposes” the bill. “While the DA recognizes that the Constitution allows for acts of redress and restitution, including land reform, we have serious reservations about the procedure as well as important substantive aspects of the Bill. We are in discussions with our legal team to formulate our case,” the party said.

The Freedom Front Plus, a conservative party that is opposed to affirmative action, said it would do “everything in its power as a member of the GNU and Cabinet to have an amendment bill issued to address the law’s unconstitutionality.”

What Happens Next

South Africa has urged for engagement with America and it remains to be seen whether the two nations will come to an understanding about the bill.

Meanwhile, programs around the world are reeling from President Trump’s decision to halt foreign aid for 90 days. Multiple “life-saving” exceptions have been made while a government review takes place to align foreign assistance policies with Trump’s “America-first” agenda.