US President Donald Trump’s ill-informed tweet yesterday on SA’s land expropriation without compensation proposals was placed in perspective by the US State Department last night, notes Legalbrief. It said it believed expropriation without compensation ‘would risk sending SA down the wrong path’. This was after Trump tweeted earlier: ‘I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers. 'South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers'.’

According to a News24 report, department spokesperson Heather Nauert told a press briefing: ‘I should mention that the expropriation of land without compensation; our position is that it would risk sending SA down the wrong path. We continue to encourage a peaceful and transparent public debate about what we consider to be a very important issue and South Africans certainly do as well. If policies are poorly implemented, there are potentially detrimental political, socio-economic and other issues.’

Asked if the US believed the  policy to be similar to the land grabs that had taken place in Zimbabwe, Nauert said the situations were quite different.

‘In Zimbabwe, we saw the government there squash civil society, shut down the media from doing their jobs in reporting and destroy an independent judiciary and we have not seen that happen in SA, so I think they are different situations altogether.’

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said the comment was ‘misinformed’, according to Business Day. 

The Department of International Relations & Co-operation held a meeting with the US embassy, with Minister Lindiwe Sisulu saying she would also discuss the saga with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

‘SA has good political, economic and trade relations with the USA and diplomatic channels remain open to provide clarity on issues of mutual interest,’ Sisulu said.

First News24 report

Full Business Day report (subscription needed)