Bulelwa Hoala

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to US President Donald Trump’s threats to cut off all funding to South Africa for “confiscating land”.
On Monday, 3 January 2025, Trump announced on social media that South Africa was confiscating land and violating the human rights of certain classes of people.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people badly VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to 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,” Trump said on X.
He also added that he will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation into the matter has been completed.
Responding to Trump’s outburst, Ramaphosa explained that the recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument.
“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,” Ramaphosa wrote on X.
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.
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 3, 2025
The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal…
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, previously said he hopes Trump’s advisors will deepen their understanding of South Africa’s policies.
“We trust that President Trump’s advisors will leverage this investigative period to deepen their understanding of South Africa’s policies as a constitutional democracy. Such insights will ensure a respectful and informed approach to our democratic commitments,” Lamola said on X.
This comes after Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law on Thursday, 23 January 2025.
According to reports, the controversial bill repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975.
IOL says the bill stipulates that the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.
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