President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected Monday assertions by Donald Trump that South Africa was “confiscating” land and said he was ready to explain his government’s land reform policy to his US counterpart.
Trump’s comments appeared to be referring to a land expropriation act signed by Ramaphosa last month which stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to seize 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.
Efforts to redress the inequality have drawn criticism from conservatives, including South Africa-born Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who is a powerful Trump adviser.
“The South African government has not confiscated any land,” Ramaphosa said in a statement after Trump’s claim in which he also accused the government of “treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY” and threatened to cut funding to the country.
The government says the bill does not allow authorities to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach agreement with the owner.
“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument,” Ramaphosa’s statement said.
It is a “constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution”.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest,” it said.
“We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters.”
Ramaphosa’s statement said that with the exception of aid from the PEPFAR anti-HIV/Aids initiative, which makes up 17 percent of South Africa’s HIV/Aids programme, “there is no other significant funding that is provided by the United States in South Africa”.
“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa,” it added.
