PREVIEW
The White House has halted funding to Pretoria but Ramaphosa has downplayed the move’s impact as speculation grows about Musk’s influence
South Africa is the first African country to be specifically targeted by the new United States President, Donald J Trump. On 3 February, Trump announced the halt of all funding for Pretoria, citing the recently signed land expropriation bill. The bill, which was signed into law just a week ago by President Cyril Ramaphosa, permits expropriation without compensation only when it is ‘just and equitable and in the public interest,’ such as in cases where land is not being used or developed.
The bill is much softer than many in Ramaphosa’s African National Congress would like, but it is opposed by the ANC’s main coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance (Dispatches 28/1/25, Land law poses first major test to coalition). Yet Trump’s targeted aid cuts angered politicians across the spectrum. Later on 3 February, DA leader John Steenhuisen added his voice to opposition Trump’s move.
Suspicions that Trump’s favoured choice for US Ambassador to Pretoria, Joel Pollak, helped inform the targeting of South Africa has triggered another political spat: Pollak has called on South Africa to align itself with the US on China and Israel if it wants to benefit from Washington’s aid programmes. Married to a South African, Julia Bertelsmann, Pollak, previously worked as an advisor to Tony Leon, a former leader of the DA.
Blame has also been flung at Elon Musk, the Tesla boss who is now leading Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has described USAID as a ‘criminal organization’ that ‘needs to die’ on his social media platform X.
Musk, whose estranged father Errol was a member of the anti-apartheid Progressive Federal Party, has previously falsely claimed that Ramaphosa’s government is guilty of ‘genocide’ against white farmers in the country. Trump’s trade war imposed tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico over the weekend, with the threat of levies on the European Union looming.
International Relations and Cooperation minister Ronald Lamola has said that the White House is yet to formally confirm the funding freeze. Ramaphosa, meanwhile, has played down the economic importance of the move, stating on 3 February, that ‘the US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa,’ but that Pretoria receives ‘no other significant funding’ from the US beyond money under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
In an executive order on 20 January, Trump announced a three-month freeze on US aid spending (Dispatches 28/1/25, Rubio deals hammer blow to US aid & AC Vol 66 No 2, America first but Africa where?). Initially, the only exceptions were military aid to Israel and Egypt, with whom the US has long-standing military agreements, and US contributions to emergency food assistance.
However, following a panicked reaction from several developing countries, including many in Africa, who warned that thousands of patients would immediately lose access to lifesaving medication, an exemption for programmes tackling HIV/AIDS was announced on 29 January.
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