Trump threatens to block S’Africa funding for confiscating land

Trump threatens to block S’Africa funding for confiscating land

US President, Donald Trump, has said he will cut off future funding to South Africa for “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly”.

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, signed a bill last month that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.

Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.

This issue has been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including the world’s wealthiest person and Trump adviser, Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

However, the South African government argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach an agreement with the owner.

Some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.

Trump, in a briefing with journalists, said that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without giving examples.

“So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing – they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”