JOHANNESBURG, Feb 3 (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that he looked forward to engaging with Donald Trump after the U.S. president said he would cut off funding for South Africa, citing land confiscations.
Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that “South Africa is confiscating land” and “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly” so he would cut funding until the matter was investigated.
Ramaphosa signed into law a bill last month to make it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, despite objections by some parties in his coalition government.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters,” Ramaphosa said in a statement issued by the presidency.
“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.”
The law aims to address racial disparities in land ownership that persist three decades after apartheid’s end in 1994.
Special conditions have to be met before expropriating land such as it having longtime informal occupants, being unused and held purely for speculation, or being abandoned.
“The recently adopted 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 as guided by the constitution,” Rampahosa added on Monday.
Trump’s comments, made in a Truth Social post, did not directly name the law.
Ramaphosa said except for PEPFAR aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIV/Aids programme, there was no other significant funding provided by the United States.
South Africa’s rand fell nearly 2% against the dollar early on Monday after Trump’s remarks. Stocks and the benchmark government bond also tumbled.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Andrew Cawthorne)
