Donald Trump to cut off all funding to South Africa
United States President Donald Trump said he would cut off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation into taking land from certain people has been completed.
Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the controversial Expropriation Bill into law, which sets out how state organs can expropriate land in the public interest.
Section 25 of the Constitution recognises expropriation as an essential mechanism for the state to acquire someone’s property for a public purpose or in the public interest.
However, expropriation by the state is subject to just and equitable compensation being paid for the property.
Until now, property expropriation has been governed by the Expropriation Act of 1975, which predates the expropriation mechanism provided for in section 25 of the Constitution.
This new bill repeals the Expropriation Act and provides a common to guide the processes and procedures for the expropriation of property by organs of state.
This law will assist all state organs – local, provincial, and national authorities – in expropriating land in the public interest for various reasons.
An expropriating authority is obliged to enter into negotiations with the owner of a property required for such purposes.
An expropriating authority must also attempt to reach an agreement on the acquisition of the property before resorting to expropriation.
Many stakeholders slated the bill, saying it is nothing more than expropriation without compensation in disguise.
“The Bill further gives the Minister of Public Works the power to expropriate property in the public interest or for a public purpose,” the DA said.
The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) said the Expropriation Act represents a frontal assault on property rights in South Africa.
“The Act empowers the state to seize land from individuals and businesses without paying for it,” the IRR said.
“For investors, including those hobnobbing with the ANC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, this should set the alarm bells ringing.”
Donald Trump warns South Africa

On Monday, 3 February 2025, United States Presidents warned South Africa about confiscating land.
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention,” he added.
Trump called it a “massive human rights violation, at a minimum”, saying it is happening for all to see. “The United States won’t stand for it. We will act,” he said.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.”
This is the latest blow to South Africa, following shortly after Trump cut funding impacting the country’s Aids Relief project.
US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) received letters from USAID’s agreement officer for Southern Africa to suspend work.
Pepfar provides treatment to almost 680,000 pregnant women living with HIV, to reduce the rate of transmission of the disease during birth.
Babies infected at birth face a higher risk of death as well as a future involving lifelong treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. Without such treatment, the disease is generally fatal.
Trump ordered a wide review of foreign aid programmes on his first day in office and announced his intention to exit the World Health Organisation.
The US is the world’s largest donor of foreign aid and spent about $68 billion on overseas assistance in 2023.
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