South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has swiftly moved to dispel claims by US President, Donald Trump that the country is seizing land from some of its citizens.

Ramaphosa also reasserted his authority and rejected the Republican Party leader’s insinuation that South Africa’s Expropriation Act was an instrument to take land and punish whites, saying it was nothing more than a constitutionally mandated legal instrument to ensure a just and equitable land redistribution.

Based on that claim, Trump said all funding for South Africa would be cut. 

In a social post, Trump also claimed that there are human rights violations in South Africa and his country won’t watch from the sidelines.

“South Africa is confiscating land,” Trump alleged in one of his social media posts, but produced no proof to back up the claim. 

It appears that Trump either misunderstood the aims of the recently signed expropriation act, which is opposed by parties like the DA and Inkatha Freedom Party, or deliberately misinterpreted them. 

When the news spread that Trump was going to cut funding to South Africa, Ramaphosa took to X (Twitter) to provide clarity.  

He said South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality and his government has not confiscated any land.

“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. 

South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners,” Ramaphosa wrote on X on Monday. 

The president also said he is looking forward to meeting with Trump over the matter.

“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. 

The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. With the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States.”

Meanwhile, Afriforum, one of the organizations opposed to the expropriation act, asked Trump not to punish South Africa as a whole. Instead, the sanctions should be imposed on ANC leaders.