Stacy
11 Feb 2025, South Africa: The Democratic Alliance (DA) of South Africa now has a case regarding the Expropriation Act, a law that has received a lot of criticism. This Act allows the government of South Africa to take privately held land without paying for it in certain situations. This has led to tensions around the world, particularly when US President Donald Trump announced he would withhold funding to the country because of claimed abuses of power.
The DA, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, maintains that the law is unconstitutional and too much control is placed in the hands of the government. The DA has also claimed that no democracy should have uncontrolled expropriation power and that Rhamaposa should not have signed the law contrary to his advice.
Almost three decades after apartheid, the ownership of land in South Africa, where most of the private agricultural land is owned by white people, is still a controversial topic. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) claims that the new law is aimed at correcting historical wrongs but also claims that land is not being taken without proper justification. The government insists that his controversial approach will only be applicable in the extreme, such as when no other means of acquisition for public purposes is reasonable and practical.
President Trump’s executive order halting U.S. aid accuses South Africa of “unjust and immoral practices” and states that the U.S. “cannot support rights violations.” The White House also announced plans to prioritize humanitarian relief for South African farmers, particularly white Afrikaners, by granting them refugee status in the U.S.
The DA, a historically majority-white party, warned that similar land seizure policies were used by the apartheid government to displace native communities and emphasized the need to protect all property rights. Meanwhile, the ANC condemned Trump’s actions, calling them a “campaign of misinformation aimed at misrepresenting our great nation.”
In response to the diplomatic fallout, President Ramaphosa announced that envoys would be sent to clarify South Africa’s land reform policies. The situation has further strained U.S.-South Africa relations, with fears of economic repercussions as the standoff continues.
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