The South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, responds to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on his statement to halt all aids for the country. Trump vowed to withdraw all United States funding into South Africa on the account of human rights violations over land confiscation.
In 2020, the South African parliament began a process of the amendment of the Expropriation Act 63 of 1975. The law was passed in 2024 and it became The Expropriation Act 13 of 2024. It provides for expropriation of private property by the government in the interest and public use.
Trump’s concerns
Trump finds this development offensive to specific classes of people. He had said on Sunday that “South Africa is taking the land away and badly hurting specific classes of people.” An action he describes as “a strong-arm human rights VIOLATION…” He further threatens that “the United States won’t stand for it; we will act… I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Ramaphosa’s response
In a post on X Ramaphosa emphasises the sovereignty of South Africa like other countries. He stated every country has the same law tha expropriate lands for public use. However, the law aims to making right the injustice and inequality in land share since the apartheid era. “We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest,” he stated.
In the statement, Ramaphosa clearly spelt out that “with the exception of PEPFAR aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS program, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States.”
What about the land?
Blacks has been the majority in South Africa. Under apartheid, the government forcefully removed the black majority from their ancestral lands, giving ownership to the white minority. The new law aims to tilt the balance in the land possession. It will also make land available for public use, where necessary.
