Trump halts funding to South Africa over ‘bad’ land policy

US President Donald Trump says he will cut off future funding to South Africa over its recent land policy.

The controversial Expropriation Act signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month has stirred intense debate abroad.

The policy allows the government to seize land without compensation under certain circumstances — in a bid to address decades-long inequality brewed by the apartheid era.

The bill was enacted to accelerate land reform efforts, as black South Africans currently own a disproportionately small share of agricultural land compared to the white minority.

Trump said the law “violates” human rights, adding that he would take action.

“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.

“It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as 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. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

The US provided some $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023.

Reacting to Trump’s position, Ramaphosa maintained that the Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a “constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner”.

“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,” he added in an X post on Monday.

Ramaphosa clarified that South Africa has only received PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) from the US, which constitutes 17 percent of the country’s HIV/AIDS programme.

Trump has frozen all foreign aid. However, the White House implemented a waiver for PEPFAR to 55 countries.

The South African president added that he looks forward to engaging the Trump administration for a better and common understanding of the matter.