By Kolawole Ojebisi
The South-African government has said the United States president, Donald Trump’s decision to freeze aid to the country is premised on misinformation that fails to recognize its profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid
Trump had on Friday signed an executive order that froze aid to South Africa over a law he alleged allows land to be seized from white farmers.
The law would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”, Trump alleged in the executive order, which also noted foreign policy clashes between the two countries over the war in Gaza.
But reacting to the development on Saturday, South African government condemned Trump’s rationale for the executive order.
“We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation,” the government said.
“It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the United States of America.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, which spoke o behalf of the government of South Africa said it “has taken note” of Trump’s executive order, but added: “It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.”
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid and the government seems to be intense under pressure to implement reforms.
