President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order cutting all foreign aid to South Africa, citing concerns about the country “seizing” ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.
Trump alleged South Africa’s recently enacted Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 “dismantles equal opportunity in employment, education, and business.”
The order notes “hateful rhetoric” and government actions have been “fueling disproportionate violence against racially disfavored landowners.”
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has criticized South Africa’s new land laws. (Evan Vucci/AP/RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images)
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa previously released a statement arguing that no land was confiscated.
“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest,” according to the statement. “We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters.”
The act permits the country to take land for a public purpose or in the public interest, while offering just and equitable compensation.
However, Fox News Digital previously reported expropriation has yet to happen.
Cyril Ramaphosa waves as he arrives ahead of his inauguration as President, at the Union Buildings in Tshwane, South Africa, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Kim Ludbrook/Pool Photo via AP)
Elon Musk, leader of the DOGE team, publicly commented on the matter, accusing Ramaphosa of having “openly racist ownership laws.
The executive order also claims South Africa has taken “aggressive” positions toward the U.S. by accusing Israel of genocide – instead of Hamas, and “reinvigorating” its relationship with Iran to develop commercial, military, and nuclear arrangements.
Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, is pictured in July 2023. (Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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Pointing to those concerns, the executive order states the U.S. cannot support the South African government’s alleged commission of rights violations.
In addition to eliminating aid and assistance, the order notes the U.S. will promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored, race-based discrimination -which includes racially discriminatory property confiscation.
The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security will prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, according to the order.
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Fox News Digital’s Paul Tilsley contributed to this story.
