US President Donald Trump (Photo by Jim WATSON / POOL / AFP)
The South African government has launched a diplomatic offensive to reject "disinformation" spread by US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on the country's land reform policies.
Trump and Musk sparked outrage with tweets accusing the SA government of "confiscating" land and perpetuating racist ownership laws.
Trump wrote on social media platform X: “SA is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. The United States won't stand for it, we will act. I will be cutting off all future funding to SA until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.”
Musk who heads Trump’s department of government efficiency, who was born in Pretoria and briefly attended the University of Pretoria, also took to X and claimed that SA had “openly racist ownership laws”.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya described the claims as "unfortunate" and "deliberate distortions" peddled by right-wing parties.
"South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land," Magwenya said.
"We are working on refuting that misinformation, no matter how many conversations it will take," said Magwenya.
Despite the tensions, Magwenya said the US remains a key strategic partner for SA.
The diplomatic row comes after Trump announced that he would be suspending the US President's global Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program.
The country has benefited from the program since its inception 20 years ago and almost 20 million people around the world rely on this program for medications.
However, Magwenya downplayed the impact of the suspension, saying the government was already working on alternative funding sources.
The diplomatic spat has also sparked concerns about the potential impact on SA's trade relations with the US, especially the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) program.
South Africa’s inclusion under the program has faced increased scrutiny because of its stance on Israel and close ties to Russia
The country is the largest beneficiary of Agoa, a program that provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products.
However, Magwenya said the Agoa program is not under threat.
"We should not mix trade and aid, they are two very distinct separate things. As far as aid is concerned, there is no other significant funding we receive from the US except PEPFAR. PEPFAR has already been suspended, and work has already begun as to where we need to make adjustments to bridge that gap," Magwenya said.
Responding to the spat Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said the expropriation law in question was not unique to South Africa.
“Many parts of the world have expropriation laws that are used in the public interest…The US and the UK have such laws themselves. We look forward to engaging with our counterparts on deepening the understanding of this law,” Lamola said.
Minerals and Resources minister Gwede Mantashe while addressing the Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town said that if the US closed down aid to Africa then the continent should close down exporting minerals to the US.
“We need to mobilise the rest of Africa. If they don't give us money we must not give them minerals…they take our minerals but want to withdraw funding in the continent. We are not beggars and we must use that endowment for the benefit of our continent,” he said.
Responding to the spat, DA leader John Steenhuisen issued a statement on Monday saying he had a “deep concern” about Trump’s threat to cut critical aid funding in response to the Expropriation Act.
“It is not true that the Act allows land to be seized by the state arbitrarily, and it does require fair compensation for legitimate expropriations in terms of Section 25 of the Constitution,” he said.
EFF president Julius Malema said Trump’s assertions were disrespectful and undermined South Africa’s sovereignty.
“We want to make it categorically clear to the president of the USA that we are going to expropriate land without compensation and pursue legislative measures to do so, and no threat will stop us,” Malema said on Monday.
Dr Siphumelele Duma, an international relations expert from the University of Johannesburg said a review of the Agoa agreement is due this year and the concerns over whether South Africa would continue to benefit, were relevant.
“It's very unlikely that SA will survive this time given that the US does not have to offer any explanation if it decides that a particular country has to be struck off the preferential treatment arrangement.
“It is becoming evident, though, that these programs are being used as tools to bully the beneficiaries into compliance with the US's foreign policy interests,” Duma said.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said Agoa only benefited those who are advantaged .
“Trump will never change Agoa because it does not benefit the previously disadvantaged. There is a threat. Trump is waving a dead snake in front of Ramaphosa. If Ramaphosa had proper advisers they would advise him to ignore Trump,” Swana said.
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za