South Africa leader calls Elon Musk over ‘distortions’ after Trump attack

South Africa leader calls Elon Musk over ‘distortions’ after Trump attack

After US President Donald Trump threatened to suspend aid to South Africa because of its land reform policy, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke with Elon Musk about “misinformation” about the country.

In a post on X on Monday, South African-born billionaire Musk, who is close to Trump, claimed that the country has “openly racist ownership laws” and that white people were the victims.

Trump alleged on Sunday that “certain classes of people” were being treated poorly and had confiscated land.

Ramaphosa responded, stating that the government has not seized any real property and that the policy seeks to ensure fair access for all.

Ramaphosa and Musk spoke on “issues of misinformation and distortions” about South Africa, according to a statement from the presidency.

“In the process, the president reiterated South Africa’s constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality”, it said, giving no further details.

Full investigation is available.

As part of his “America First” agenda, the US president had already slapped billions of dollars in global funding with a temporary freeze on almost all foreign aid.

After apartheid ended in 1994, Ramaphosa signed a bill into law that would make it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest.

According to the government, the bill does not allow it to expropriate property arbitrarily, the landowner must reach an agreement.

Trump stated on Truth Social that he would stop providing South Africa with any additional funding until a thorough investigation into this situation was finished.

We reacted by praising President Trump’s advisers by using the investigative period to gain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s policies within the framework of a constitutional democracy, according to South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

” It may become clear that our expropriation act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation. “

Source: Aljazeera

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