ITS NOT a tool for wanton land grabs was what President Cyril Ramaphosa said in response to his US counterpart Donald Trump threatening repercussions for South Africa supposedly “confiscating” land.

“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,” said Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya on Monday.

“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,” said Magwenya.

He said South Africa is seeking to engage the Trump administration over the land reform policy and matters of bilateral interests.

“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,” said Magwenya.

“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa.”

However, Magwenya stated that with the exception of the (US) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding (Pepfar), which has funded the distribution of HIV/Aids treatment in South Africa and other countries for several years, South Africa does not rely on financial injections from Washington.

"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 HIV/Aids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States," said Magwenya.

The Presidency in Pretoria was on Monday reacting to Trump, who in a Fox News interview shared online, was asked if he was planning to cut aid to different African nations.

Trump responded: “No. It’s only South Africa, terrible things are happening in South Africa, the leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things ... so that's under investigation right now, we're making determinations and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing.

“They are taking away land, they are confiscating land and actually they are doing things that are perhaps far worse than that."

On his Truth Social app, Trump also wrote that "South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY …”

“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!" Trump wrote.

In an interview with IOL on Monday morning, associate Professor at the Tshwane University of Technology, John Molepo said Ramaphosa would be wise to avoid responding to Trump on social media platforms but pursue diplomatic engagements.

“South Africans will tell you that whatever Trump is saying, it is untrue. It is not what is happening, what we see on a daily basis in South Africa. As much as the question of land is still a hot topic in South Africa, and Expropriation Act recently passed by President Ramaphosa, this remains a very complex matter.

“Trump’s public utterances are rather unfortunate, and I think it is high time South Africa pursues diplomatic engagements with him. Considering how powerful the United States is, probably this is a way to push South Africa out of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa forum).

“President Ramaphosa must give President Trump a courtesy call so that he can understand why he (Trump) is doing this. Maybe Trump is misled. I think his whole motivation could be about South Africa’s strong alignment to BRICS,” Molepo added.

DAILY NEWS