Trump stops South Africa aid over land act intended to address apartheid legacy
WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order vowing to stop “aid and assistance” to South Africa over “human rights violations” including a land reform act which it said discriminated against white South Africans.
The order also says the U.S. will establish a plan to resettle "Afrikaners," white South Africans, generally of Dutch and Huguenot descent, and their families as refugees escaping "government-sponsored race-based discrimination." It comes after Trump signed an executive order suspending the United States Refugee Admission Program for 90 days on his first day in office.
In January, South Africa adopted the Expropriation Act to address the nation’s apartheid-era legacy of disparities in land ownership by allowing the government to seize property "in the public interest.” In some cases, it allows the state to take land without compensating the owner, such as when the property is abandoned or in derelict condition. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation under an all-white government that ruled South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
White landowners, who make up about 8% of the population, own three quarters of South Africa's farmland, while Black South Africans, who make up 80% of the population, own 4%, according to the country’s 2017 land audit.
The following day, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa appeared to reply on X, Musk's social media platform:
“The South African government has not confiscated any land,” he wrote. “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.”
The move was roundly criticized by Trump and his South African-born billionaire advisor Elon Musk.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” wrote Trump on Truth Social on Feb. 2. “Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”
Musk directly responded to Ramaphosa, asking: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”
Friday’s executive order asserts “the government of South Africa blatantly discriminates against ethnic minority Afrikaners" by “confiscating” their property without compensation.
The order also accuses South Africa of leading the charge on taking "aggressive positions" against the U.S. and its allies following the attack on Israel by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023.
“South Africa accused Israel, not Hamas, of genocide in the International Court of Justice,” it says.
The order instructs all executive departments and agencies to halt foreign aid or assistance to the "maximum extent allowed by the law."
The United States committed nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, according to Reuters.
Other than aid that supports 17% of South Africa's HIV/AIDS program, “there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States,” said Ramaphosa.
Contributing: Reuters
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for Paste BN. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal