Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to cut all future funding to the country over the controversial land seizure law. Trump’s comments came after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law last month that allows land to be seized without compensation in certain circumstances, further fueling the longstanding debate over land ownership in the country.
Land reform has been a contentious issue in post-apartheid South Africa, where the majority of farmland is still owned by white farmers, despite the end of the racist apartheid system more than three decades ago. The new law, while aiming to address the historic racial imbalances in land ownership, has raised concerns both domestically and internationally.
In a statement posted on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump declared, “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.” He went on to accuse the South African leadership of “doing some terrible things, horrible things,” implying that the government was unfairly seizing land and mistreating its people. Trump expressed concerns that the situation in South Africa could escalate beyond land confiscation and called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
South African officials, however, have defended the land expropriation law, emphasizing that it does not permit arbitrary seizures. According to President Ramaphosa’s office, the government must first attempt to reach an agreement with landowners before expropriation occurs. Furthermore, the law stipulates that land can only be seized for purposes in the public interest, such as addressing past injustices related to racial segregation and land dispossession.
South Africa’s International Relations Minister, Ronald Lamola, responded to Trump’s remarks by urging U.S. officials to take time to better understand South Africa’s constitutional framework. Lamola stressed that the country’s land reform efforts were grounded in democratic principles and that foreign critics should respect this process.
Despite the government’s assurances, the law has sparked fears that it could lead to disastrous consequences, similar to Zimbabwe’s land reform efforts in the early 2000s, which devastated the economy and led to a decline in foreign investment.
In 2023, the U.S. allocated approximately $440 million in assistance to South Africa. Trump’s threat to cut this funding raises questions about the future of U.S.-South Africa relations and the global response to the ongoing land reform debate in South Africa.
