Cyril Ramaphosa defends measures that allow the state to seize land without compensation, after the U.S. president accused South Africa of treating “certain classes of people VERY BADLY.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hit back at Donald Trump’s vow to cut off the United States’ funding to his country, after the U.S. president claimed South Africa was taking land from “certain classes of people.”
“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,” Ramaphosa wrote on social media. Late last month, Ramaphosa signed a law that allows the state to seize land without compensation in some circumstances to address racial and other disparities in land ownership.
Trump on Sunday claimed “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” adding that he would “cut off all future funding” to the country to protest the law.
In his own post, Ramaphosa argued the Expropriation Act was designed to implement land reform “in the public interest” and address economic and racial inequality dating back to South Africa’s apartheid era, and was not a confiscatory tool.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest,” Ramaphosa wrote, adding that the U.S. remains an important strategic political and trade partner for South Africa.
Elon Musk, Trump’s close ally and one of the faces of his new administration, also waded into the controversy, asking Ramaphosa on social media: “Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?”
Musk was born in South Africa during the country’s apartheid era. He became a U.S. citizen in 2002.
