Former US President Donald Trump has announced a freeze on American aid to South Africa, citing concerns over a land reform policy that he claims allows the government to seize farmland from white Afrikaner farmers without compensation.
In an executive order issued on Friday, Trump stated that the policy “enables the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.”
He also highlighted ongoing diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria, particularly regarding Middle East policy.
Land ownership remains a divisive issue in South Africa, where the majority of farmland is still in white ownership nearly 30 years after the end of apartheid.
The government has faced increasing pressure to accelerate land redistribution.
Trump further declared that the US would support the resettlement of Afrikaners facing “government-sponsored race-based discrimination.”
His statement comes amid a wider controversy over South Africa’s expropriation act, signed into law last month, a move that the South African government has dismissed as being misrepresented by foreign critics.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, a South African-born US citizen and Trump ally, has also criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government, accusing it of promoting “openly racist ownership laws.”
Reports suggest that licensing for Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa has been delayed due to a requirement for major companies to allocate 30 percent equity to historically disadvantaged groups.
Adding to the diplomatic strain, US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has announced he will skip an upcoming G20 summit in South Africa, accusing Pretoria of adopting an “anti-American” stance in international affairs.
