Trump freezes aid to South Africa amid spat over land expropriation law

President Donald Trump of the United States has halted aid to South Africa, intensifying the divide between his administration and Pretoria regarding a contentious land expropriation law designed to address inequality arising from apartheid.

In an executive order issued on Friday, Trump stated that the law displayed a “shocking disregard” for the rights of citizens and would enable the government to confiscate land from minority Afrikaners without compensation. The approval of the Expropriation Act, which was signed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month, came after “countless” initiatives aimed at erasing equal opportunity, along with “hateful rhetoric” and government measures that have incited violence against “racially disfavored” landowners, Trump remarked in his order.

South Africa has adopted “forceful stances” against the US and its allies, such as accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and strengthening ties with Iran, Trump stated in the order.

“The United States cannot support the government of South Africa’s commission of rights violations in its country or its undermining United States foreign policy, which poses national security threats to our Nation, our allies, our African partners, and our interests,” the US president said in the order. Trump’s order also said his administration would promote the resettlement of Afrikaners “escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination”.

Since Sunday, Trump and Ramaphosa have been involved in a growing exchange of hostile remarks regarding the law, following the US president’s accusation that his counterpart’s government is “confiscating land” and mistreating “specific groups of people.” On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he would not attend the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) meetings in Johannesburg due to the legislation and other “very bad things” occurring in the nation.

Ramaphosa has maintained that the law is not a “confiscation tool” but a component of a “constitutionally required legal procedure,” asserting that it will guarantee public access to land in an “equitable and fair way.”  During a speech to parliament on Thursday that seemed directed at Trump, Ramaphosa expressed that his nation would remain united in the face of a growing “pursuit of narrow interests” and “the decline of collective purpose.”

“We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied,” he said.