VOA News | Monday, February 3, 2025 
South Africa defends itself against Trump and Musk attacks on land policy 

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa defended itself on Monday against attacks on its land confiscation policy by Donald Trump and his South African-born billionaire backer Elon Musk after the U.S. president said he would cut off funding to the country over the issue. Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that “South Africa is confiscating land” and “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly.” “I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” he said. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government had not confiscated any land, and he looked forward to engaging with Trump to foster a better understanding over the matter. The United States committed nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent U.S. government data showed. The lion’s share of the sum, $315 million, was for HIV/AIDS. Ramaphosa said U.S. funding accounted for 17% of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS program but it was reliant on “no other significant funding” from the United States. The president 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 ruling coalition. The law aims to address stark racial disparities in land ownership that persist three decades after the end of apartheid in 1994. “The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an…Read more