South African President,Cyril Ramaphosa, has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump after Trump accused the South African government of “confiscating land” and engaging in “horrible things.”
Ramaphosa rejected these claims, clarifying that his country had not seized any land. Instead, he explained that the recent land expropriation law he signed strikes a careful balance between using land for the public good while safeguarding private property rights.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest,” President Ramaphosa said in a statement.
Trump’s comments, made on Sunday through posts on Truth Social and in remarks to reporters, suggested that the United States would cut off aid to South Africa pending an investigation into the situation.
However, Ramaphosa noted that beyond a program focused on combating HIV/AIDS, South Africa does not receive aid from the U.S.
WorldClass247News, foreign desk, gathered that, the issue of land in South Africa has been a longstanding and contentious matter.
It won’t be recalled that, In 1913, under colonial rule, Black South Africans were restricted to just 7 percent of the country’s land, resulting in widespread dispossession.
Though Black South Africans have seen incremental land ownership gains since the end of apartheid in 1994, white South Africans, who make up around 7 percent of the population, still dominate land ownership, with white owned farms occupying about half of the country’s surface area.
Despite these facts, far right groups in South Africa, along with figures like Elon Musk, were alleged to have perpetuated the false narrative that white South Africans have been widely dispossessed of their land and even victims of genocide.
WorldClass247News foreign desk, investigation revealed that, Since apartheid’s end, South Africa’s government has typically purchased land from willing white sellers rather than seizing it.