US President Donald Trump has asserted South Africa is “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly” as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.
The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.
“South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.
In response to his comments, South Africa said its expropriation act was not exceptional.
Commies and idiots often do steal land.
Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea but it’s not exceptional, they’re right.
I’m in no way defending it, but what really makes it even worse is that farm output crashes after its been taken over, by fair means or foul, and the farm workers and local villages are usually worse off. That’s the last thing a failing economy needs. Its not like they weren’t warned it has happened everywhere it has been tried, not least next door in Zimbabwe.
And the US has “Eminent Domain”, which is used to expropriate property even for non-public reasons.
Pots, kettles.
Not wholly, no. Eminent domain must be paid for at full market values – it’s in the Constitution….
Snag – Pots, kettles.
You’re saying the pot is calling the kettle blick?
BiND – seems like most Africans would rather starve than see white farmers prosper.
So… let them.
the government* may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.
Including football clubs.
* because nowadays there is only one government, it just occasionally switches the colour of its rosettes .
@Tim
It’s a bit more complicated than that.
https://reason.com/2025/01/01/scotus-can-protect-property-owners-from-eminent-domain-abuse/
Eminent domain must be paid for at full market values – it’s in the Constitution….
[ Susette Kelo has entered the chat ]
@ BiND – A family member claims that Zimbabwe are now begging white farmers to return and sort out their farms…
Ah, no. Kelo was paid for the house.
The question was whether eminent domain could be used to assemble a parcel for a private developer or only for directly public purposes…..
Tim:
Yes, but it was clearly a step on the way to greater abuse. And never mind regulations making private property ownership more difficult.
To borrow a Father Ted quote: Ah, so you’re an apartheid apologist now, then Tim?
I’m going to guess that the “certain classes of people” are white South Africans who were doing “very nicely thank you”. I can’t for one moment imagine why Musk has been so deeply involved in this particular project.
Doesn’t justify governments granting themselves arbitrary powers over other people’s property, but Trump is not exactly in a position to preach at the moment, is he? How’s the annexation of Canada and the Gulf of Mex.. sorry America going?
As it is, his public justifications for axing USAid and other agencies are nothing to do with a deep abiding love for fairness in South Africa, and you’d really have to be drinking the MAGA cool-aid deep to believe that. Yes, South Africa is pretty fucked up. No, Trump does not have the slightest interest in changing that. America First, remember?
Andy – Trump is not exactly in a position to preach at the moment, is he?
He’s not preaching, he’s taken off his belt and now it’s silly smacky time.
Btw, South Africa’s government went all-in against Israel. I don’t think Daddy’s belt is unconnected to that fact.
How’s the annexation of Canada and the Gulf of Mex.. sorry America going?
The fact that someone on here is taking his trolling seriously indicates it’s going exactly as planned.
Yes, South Africa is pretty fucked up. No, Trump does not have the slightest interest in changing that. America First, remember?
Why subsidise a country that’s fucking itself up? You’re assisting them doing it.
Btw – white South Africans who were doing “very nicely thank you”. I can’t for one moment imagine why Musk has been so deeply involved in this particular project
That’s a funny way to describe people who are being targeted by government-sponsored gangs for rape and murder on account of their skin colour. They turn up with mobile phone signal jammers so the victims can be mutilated at leisure.
Yes, how dare Musk think white people shouldn’t be tortured to death and have their land stolen. Grr, Trump.
> Why subsidise a country that’s fucking itself up? You’re assisting them doing it.
Tell me you don’t understand foreign aid, without saying you don’t understand foreign aid.
> The fact that someone on here is taking his trolling seriously indicates it’s going exactly as planned.
For someone relying on the trolling defence (*cough* tariffs), you seem to be taking my comment a little too seriously.
> He’s not preaching, he’s taken off his belt and now it’s silly smacky time.
Bloody hell, did Nanny treat you badly as a child? I assume you’re a grown man. If so, sort yourself out.
Andy – Bloody hell, did Nanny treat you badly as a child?
Of course not, I’m not posh. My Dad administered the beatings when he was drunk or annoyed, like a normal person. That’s just how it was in the 80’s. It was all Maggie Thatcher’s fault.
I assume you’re a grown man. If so, sort yourself out
How dare you assume my gender.
Andy. I’m not taking you remotely seriously so go ahead and have the last word by all means.
Moving closer to the original subject I see that Panama has now followed Colombia’s example by coming to heel in double quick time. As for Mexico never mind the tariffs, let them worry about the far more effective charges on remittances sent back home.
It was the German Ocean. Then it became the North Sea. Now it’s the Gulf of Pictland. Because.
But to be serious – I don’t see the point of Trump’s excuse. It’s perfectly reasonable simply to object to the money of US taxpayers being handed out to South African politicos. And politicos all round the world, come to that.
Stop foreign aid, say I, except that made voluntarily by individuals. And even then don’t give it tax exemptions.
Mexico just capitulated to Trump.
3-0
Just a question, because it touches the OP in a ….discussion… I’m having in a comment thread in a dutch news outlet.
The reeeee-ing Progressive I’m…debating… with claims DOGE made a “raid” on the US Treasury to get their hands on civilian tax records and other “privacy” stuff.
Does an institution like the US Treasury ( or any national Treasury even..) actually even have records of that kind?
Definitely not an expert, but afaik institutions like that won’t have anything that fine-grained data-wise.
Banks, yes. Ministeries, yes. NGO’s of sufficient size. Possibly.
But not “civilian” data, other than anonymised collations showing trends and other stuff of interest to Economists and Big Bankers.
Some peeps here worked in Finance, so they’ll probably have an answer for me..
Treasury? No. IRS, yes.
That’s nothing, Norweb will track you for three million years for that unpaid electricity bill.
Some of the first properties earmarked to be expropriated without compensation are game farms.
Purely coincidentally, Cyril Ramaphosa is a big punter in the game farm game.
Why US AIDS had to die:
Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, offered a foreign perspective.
He said on social media “Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up.
“While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.
“At best, maybe 10% of the money reaches real projects that help people in need (there are such cases), but the rest is used to fuel dissent, finance protests, and undermine administrations that refuse to align with the globalist agenda.”
He’s right you know. One of the many evil things they were spending US taxes on was promoting transgender to children in Poland.
How was that supposed to help America?
Mexico just capitulated to Trump.
3-0
Also Venezuela is suddenly sounding a lot more accommodating than it had done for the last four years. Potentially useful should there be a temporary blip in access to Canadian oil.
Meanwhile it’s depressing but predictable that, despite Trumps overtures towards closer cooperation with the UK, TTK immediately cosies up to the EU literally gagging to give away more of our limited Brexit gains.
Like all of them, TTK wants a ‘legacy’ so historians will write nice things about him in the future. He is under the misapprehension that getting us back into bed with the EU will deliver that.
Of course I believe that all foreign aid should be re-labeled bribes, and only given to foreigners AFTER what they’re being bribed to do has been done.
Naturally it should all go into the Swiss bank accounts of the evil pollies concerned, and not be wasted on stopping the plebs from starving.
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