Geopolitics

Under fire: How Trump & Co. are interfering in South Africa's land rights debate

The recent criticism of South Africa's expropriation law by Donald Trump and Elon Musk has sparked a heated debate about land rights, investment security and geopolitical tensions. freiheit.org spoke with Inge Herbert, head of the Regional Office for Sub-Saharan Africa, about the background to the legal reform, the political consequences and the impact on relations between South Africa and the West.

freiheit.org: Recently, US President Donald Trump and South African-born billionaire Elon Musk have been highly critical of South Africa and Trump has stopped financial aid to South Africa. Secretary of State Rubio has announced that he will not attend the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Johannesburg because South Africa is carrying out expropriations. Is this portrayal accurate?

Inge Herbert: No, that is a distortion of reality. The Land Expropriation Act, signed into law by South African President Ramaphosa on 23 January 2025, provides the government with a legal framework for acquiring land for public purposes or as part of land reform. It allows expropriation without compensation only in very specific cases, such as land lying fallow. Many states, including the US, have expropriation laws. The key question is whether they are applied fairly, transparently and in accordance with the rule of law. The South African constitution still does not allow expropriation without compensation.

The criticism from the USA is less a matter-of-fact debate than a declaration of war; for the debate has a geopolitical dimension. South Africa, this year's host of the G20 summit, is a founding member of the BRICS community of states. The South African governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), has maintained close relations with Russia and China for years. South Africa has also brought a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice for genocide in Gaza. The ANC has long neglected relations with Western partners such as the US – despite the fact that the US supports health and climate programmes in South Africa with approximately $500 million annually. This disregard has now backfired, as the new administration in the US has shown less patience with South Africa's Russia-friendly foreign policy.

Critics argue that the land reform could deter foreign investors. Is this concern justified?

It is clear that investors do not like uncertainty. But what is more damaging to South Africa – a regulated land reform or the continuation of extreme inequalities that exacerbate social tensions? In South Africa, the vast majority of land is still owned by a white minority.

However, the current domestic political situation is also important in this context: the Democratic Alliance (DA), a partner in the new Government of National Unity that has been in place since May 2024, has taken a clear stand against the Expropriation Bill. The DA has even filed a lawsuit against the law, which was passed by the purely ANC predecessor government, because it sees it as a threat to property rights and investment security. Should the law be implemented, it could jeopardise the fragile governing coalition.

The Democratic Alliance is therefore facing a dilemma: it is part of the government but rejects the expropriation law. How can it master this balancing act?

The DA must take a clear line: it cannot sit in a government that undermines the party's core principles. At the same time, the party must distinguish itself from groups such as the far-right AfriForum, a lobby group of white South African farmers, who are deliberately spreading disinformation to Trump and Musk.

The DA should position itself as the guarantor of the rule of law and economic reason. At the same time, it must seek cooperation with moderate forces in the ANC to find a pragmatic solution. DA leader John Steenhuisen has already announced that the government of national unity will contact Trump to clarify misunderstandings around the law.

The big risk is that the left-wing and populist elements in the ANC will prevail. If the government of national unity collapses, South Africa faces a political crisis – with unforeseeable consequences for the economy and society. The debate on expropriation is therefore much more than just a dispute over land rights: it is a litmus test for South Africa's political future, for the integrity of the government and for the country's relations with the West.