Latest news with #ExpropriationActof2024
IOL News
7 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
DA to oppose 'nil compensation' in Expropriation Act
Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille said her party will continue with the court case against the land expropriation without compensation. Democratic Alliance's (DA) Federal Council has reaffirmed its firm rejection of expropriation without compensation, vowing to defend private property rights through both legal and legislative means. The Federal Council, the DA's highest decision-making body between Federal Congresses, passed a motion that reinforced the party's longstanding support for Section 25 of the Constitution. Central to this stance is the principle that compensation for expropriated property must be 'just and equitable' — as determined by a court of law, rejecting the controversial concept of 'nil compensation' introduced by the Expropriation Act of 2024.
Sky News AU
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Dozens of Afrikaners land in US after Donald Trump offers refuge from South African ‘genocide'
President Trump accused South Africa Monday of engaging in 'genocide' against its white minority as the first planeload of Afrikaners granted refugee status touched down in the US. 'It is a genocide that is taking place that you people don't want to write about,' Trump told reporters at the White House before signing an executive order meant to reduce drug prices. 'It's a terrible thing that's taking place and farmers are being killed,' he added. 'They happen to be white, but whether they are white or black makes no difference to me.' Trump signed an executive order Feb. 7 freezing aid to South Africa in response to a law passed last year allowing the majority black government to 'seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation,' in the words of the White House. Exactly a month later, the president announced that 'any farmer' fleeing South Africa can come to America and receive a 'rapid pathway' to citizenship. On Monday, 49 Afrikaners, descendants of primarily Dutch settlers who arrived at the southern tip of Africa in the mid-1600s, landed at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. The US gave South Africa more than $320 million in fiscal year 2024, mostly for health and humanitarian aid. The Expropriation Act of 2024 was enacted following a 2017 study that found white South Africans controlled about 75% of individually-owned farms more than two decades after the end of apartheid — despite making up just 7% of South Africa's population. 'It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being 'refugees' is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa's constitutional democracy,' foreign ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said in a statement. Meanwhile, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church announced Monday that the mainline Protestant denomination would no longer work with the federal government to resettle refugees after being asked to help find new homes for the South Africans. 'In light of our church's steadfast commitment to racial justice and reconciliation and our historic ties with the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, we are not able to take this step,' wrote the Most Rev. Sean Rowe. ' … It has been painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who have been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years. I am saddened and ashamed that many of the refugees who are being denied entrance to the United States are brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan and now face danger at home because of their service to our country. 'I also grieve,' Rowe added, 'that victims of religious persecution, including Christians, have not been granted refuge in recent months.' South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has compared the Expropriation Act to the practice of eminent domain in America. But the Trump administration is standing by their criticisms. 'Afrikaners fleeing persecution are welcome in the United States,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X Monday. 'The South African government has treated these people terribly — threatening to steal their private land and subjected them to vile racial discrimination. The Trump Administration is proud to offer them refuge in our great country.' Trump adviser Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and lived there for the first 18 years of his life, has repeatedly criticized the government in recent months, stating on March 4 that 'what's happening in South Africa is deeply wrong. Not what [late former President Nelson] Mandela intended at all.' Originally published as Dozens of Afrikaners land in US after Donald Trump offers refuge from South African 'genocide'
Daily Maverick
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture, protest against offshore drilling and unpacking land expropriation
This week, The Green Connection and Natural Justice lead a protest outside the Western Cape Division of the High Court challenging TotalEnergies' offshore exploration — a move echoed by solidarity actions nationwide. Throughout the week, key events include a Defend Our Democracy webinar on land expropriation, the Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture, a seminar on the DRC conflict, and the 6th Summit of the Joburg Crisis Alliance. On Monday, 5 May at 9.30am, The Green Connection and Natural Justice will hold a protest outside the Western Cape Division of the High Court, where the organisations will challenge the environmental authorisation given to TotalEnergies for exploration off the coast from Cape Town to Cape Agulhas. Several similar protests will take place against TEEPSA567 in cities across South Africa, including: Johannesburg: TotalEnergies Headquarters (10am to noon) Gqeberha: TotalEnergies Ziyabuya, Kwa Dwesi (10.30am to noon) KwaZulu-Natal, Mabibi Beach (10am – 12 pm) Centane- Wavecrest Area (1o am to noon) Port St Johns, Umngazi Beach (10am to noon) On Tuesday, 6 May at 3 pm, Defend Our Democracy will host a webinar on land expropriation. During Expropriation — The answer to South Africa's land reform problems? Philile Ntuli from SAHRC, Gabriel Crouse from the IRR and Professor Fred Henndricks will discuss the following: Understanding the Expropriation Act of 2024. Tackling misinformation about the act. The differing viewpoint. The effectiveness of the act in addressing land reform and restitution. Register to join the conversation here. Also happening on Tuesday, at 5pm, Equal Education and the Centre for Law and Society will host the third annual Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture. Under this year's theme, Gaza, Children's Rights and International Law, international children's law expert Dr Noam Peleg will deliver the keynote address. 'As Equal Education, we stand with the children of Gaza, we stand with the children of Congo, we stand with the children of Sudan. We can't stand by while children are suffering worldwide. In the spirit of Sis Yoli, we commit ourselves to solidarity towards an equal education,' the organisation said. Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Second Floor, Kramer Law School, University of Cape Town, Middle Campus RSVP at this link. On Wednesday, 7 May from 12.30 to 4.30pm, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and North West University's Centre for Geopolitical Security and Strategy, and Afrocentric Governance of Public Affairs will host a hybrid seminar on geopolitics and the conflict in the DRC. 'Since January, renewed clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have triggered another humanitarian catastrophe in the Great Lakes region. By February, the M23 rebel group had taken control of Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in a region heavily endowed with mineral resources. 'Under pressure, the DRC government finally agreed to direct peace talks with M23 in late March. Brokered by Qatar, the negotiations led to a ceasefire announced on 23 April, giving hope that calm could return to eastern DRC,' the organisation said. Moderator: Ottilia Maunganidze, Head of Special Projects, ISS. Panelists: Dr Claude Kabemba, Executive Director, Southern Africa Resource Watch Dr Michael S Mugah, Researcher, ISS Nairobi Brig-General (rtd) Peter Sereko, Operational expert in SANDF missions Venue: ISS Pretoria Register to attend the seminar here. On Thursday, 8 May at 11am, the Institute for Economic Justice will host a webinar on International Finance Institutions, Debt & the Impact on Climate Justice. 'South Africa's debt, worsened by the financial struggles after the 2008 recession and the pandemic, makes it harder for us to tackle climate change. The increasing debt costs reduce the money available for important social services and make it difficult for us to manage policies well. With limited public information about borrowing from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), this webinar will look into how IFI borrowing affects our efforts for climate justice,' IEJ said. Speakers include Liso Mdutyana, junior researcher at Debt and Budget Policy and Brighton Phiri, climate finance activist. Register here. On Saturday, 10 May from 9am to 1 pm, the Joburg Crisis Alliance will host its 6th Summit. DM
Business Insider
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Business Insider
U.S. begins processing asylum claims from white South Africans
The United States has begun processing asylum claims from white South Africans, marking a controversial development in the country's immigration policy. The United States has started processing asylum claims from white South Africans due to fears over land disputes Over 30 applicants have already been approved after interviews in Pretoria, with positive encounters with U.S. officials. Tensions between the U.S. and South Africa intensified due to a fallout over South Africa's land reform policies. White South African farmers applying for asylum in the United States cite fears over land disputes, rising crime, and perceived racial discrimination as key reasons for seeking refuge. Reuters reports that some of the South African applicants have taken part in a first round of interviews in Pretoria with over 30 applicants already been approved. An applicant, a South African farmer who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the process, told Reuters, " The staff at the embassy were exceptionally friendly—I could feel they had empathy." The U.S. administration and embassy in Pretoria however, is yet to comment or give numbers of interviews and approvals. The move comes amid broader debates over who qualifies for protection under U.S. asylum law, especially as stricter immigration enforcement continues for refugees from other parts of the world South Africa's land reform law - Trump's opposition Tensions between the United States and South Africa escalated following a fallout over South Africa's land reform policies. The friction intensified after Elon Musk publicly accused the South African government of racism for its plans to expropriate land from white farmers without compensation—a charge that reignited international scrutiny. The controversial legislation, passed under the Expropriation Act of 2024, permits the seizure of land without compensation in specific cases, with the goal of addressing deep-rooted historical injustices in land ownership. South African officials have defended the policy, insisting it is a constitutional measure aimed at redressing apartheid-era dispossession and that white South Africans, who still hold a disproportionate share of wealth and land, remain economically privileged. In a sharp rebuke, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order freezing all U.S. financial aid to South Africa and imposed a 37% tariff on South African exports—although this was temporarily paused for 90 days. Trump also cut funding for major health programs, including HIV/AIDS initiatives, and expelled South Africa's ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, following Rasool's public criticism of Trump's stance.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What to Know About Trump's Issue With South Africa
U.S. President Donald Trump and South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa. Credit - Andrew Harnik (L) and Chris McGrath (R)—Getty Images 'We will not be bullied,' South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa emphatically told his nation's Parliament on Thursday. 'We are witnessing the rise of nationalism, protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause,' Ramaphosa said during his State of the Nation address. 'But we are not daunted to navigate our path through this world that constantly changes. We will not be deterred. We are, as South Africans, a resilient people.' While he did not mention any bully by name, Ramaphosa's remarks came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut all funding to South Africa, alluding to the long-running false narrative that white South Africans are being mistreated by the nation's post-apartheid government. Trump and his allies, particularly South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, have ramped up their rhetoric against South Africa in apparent reaction to the recently passed Expropriation Act of 2024, a controversial law aimed at solving the country's longstanding land ownership inequality problem. The law has drawn criticism for supposedly risking and disregarding private property rights—particularly those of South Africa's white minority—as it permits land seizures by the state without compensation. Trump has similarly put 'anti-white' policies in the U.S. in his new administration's crosshairs, cracking down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related initiatives across the federal government and private sector. Here's what to know about Trump's issues with South Africa. On Feb. 2, Trump announced on his social media site Truth Social that South Africa has been 'confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.' He then said that he 'will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.' He later told reporters that South Africa's 'leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things.' It's not the first time Trump has made such claims: back in 2018, during his first term, Trump said he'd ordered then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to look into land seizures from and killings of white farmers in South Africa. These comments echo a longstanding false narrative pushed by right-wing groups in South Africa that white people are being dispossessed of their lands and are even victims of genocide. Musk, who was born in South Africa's Pretoria, has repeated the myth in multiple posts on X throughout the years, including one in 2023 accusing left-wing South Africans of 'openly pushing for genocide of white people' and another the same year saying 'They are actually killing white farmers every day. It's not just a threat.' Ramaphosa rejected Trump's claims, arguing in a post on X on Feb. 3 that the government 'has not confiscated any land.' The South African President said the new Expropriation Act is 'not a confiscation instrument' but a legal process that 'ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner.' Musk responded on X, asking: 'Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?' The South African government then said Ramaphosa spoke with Musk over the phone to dispel 'misinformation.' Nevertheless, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X on Wednesday that he will not attend the G20 Summit later this year in Johannesburg, claiming that host South Africa is 'doing very bad things. Expropriating private property.' Rubio suggested that to visit South Africa would be to 'waste taxpayer money' and 'coddle anti-Americanism.' The Expropriation Act of 2024 is South Africa's latest land reform policy aimed to resolve ownership inequality issues created by the pre-1994 apartheid system of white minority rule. Ramaphosa assented to the law on Jan. 23 after five years of public consultation and parliamentary debate. According to the government, the law 'outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis.' The law allows the government to take in land or 'for a public purpose or in the public interest.' The law mandates generally 'just and equitable' compensation, but one clause states that the government may not provide compensation in certain cases, including when land is not in use and the main purpose is appreciation of market value, or when the land has been abandoned. Under the law, an expropriating authority—an organ of state or person empowered by it or any other legislation—should have first tried to reach an agreement with the land owner or right holder to acquire the property 'on reasonable terms.' However, a property can be used temporarily without the need to reach an agreement if it 'is required on an urgent basis for public purpose or in the public interest.' In the weeks since the legislation has taken effect, no land has yet been expropriated. Despite the official end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa is still reeling from widespread racial inequality in land ownership. A 1913 law forcibly removed thousands of Black families from land they owned, limiting African land ownership to just 7%, later revised to 13% in 1936. These quotas largely allowed white people to own large swathes of land, while forcing the Black majority into crowded townships. Racially-based land measures were repealed in 1991, but, according to economists Johann Kirsten and Wandile Sihlobo of Stellenbosch University, white farmers owned some 63% of farmland: 'The new [post-apartheid] government set a target of redistributing 30% of this within five years. This target date has been moved several times and is now 2030,' they wrote in 2022. But progress has been challenging. According to a 2017 land audit, white people, who comprised 8% of the population, owned about three-quarters of farms and agricultural holdings, while Black South Africans only owned 4%. Advocates for the Expropriation Act say that's because, until the new law, the government was only able to buy land for redistribution to Black owners under a "willing-seller, willing-buyer" model, while large amounts of white-owned land remained unutilized. The Expropriation Act of 2024 was passed before South Africa held national elections last year in which the ruling ANC party lost its majority for the first time since it came into power post-apartheid. While there's scant public polling on the issue, the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa's government of national unity (GNU), has opposed the law, saying it 'wrongly enables nil compensation in the public interest within the limited scope of land reform and redress but ignores the public interest in economic growth and jobs.' The Freedom Front Plus, a right-wing white party also a member of the GNU, said it will challenge the constitutionality of the law, as it not only 'poses serious risks' for South African's property rights, but also sends 'an extremely negative message to the international community' since 'investors will not easily be persuaded to invest in a country where their property could be expropriated.' Contact us at letters@
