Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks come as US President Donald Trump threatens to cut funding to Pretoria over a land ownership law
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said his country will “not be bullied” amid tensions between Pretoria and the new US administration under Donald Trump.
Ramaphosa made the comments in a national address on Thursday but did not specify who they were directed at. The remarks come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced his decision to skip a G20 meeting in South Africa later this month, accusing Pretoria of “doing very bad things.”
“We are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause,” Ramaphosa said in his speech in parliament in Cape Town.
“But we are not daunted. We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied. We will stand together as a united nation and we will speak with one voice in defense of our national interests, our sovereignty and our constitutional democracy,” the president stated.
On Wednesday, Rubio claimed in a post on X that South Africa is “expropriating private property” and using its G20 presidency to “promote solidarity, equality, and sustainability.” The diplomat’s decision followed President Trump’s announcement on Sunday that he will cut future funding to the African nation over a land expropriation law it recently passed.
Pretoria says the Expropriation Act seeks to address racial disparities in land ownership in Africa’s most advanced economy, where white farmers still own the majority of land. The government has set a target of transferring 30% of farmland to black farmers by 2030 to address the inequality that has persisted since Apartheid ended in 1994.
However, South African-born billionaire and close Trump ally, Elon Musk, has criticized the legislation as “racist.” President Trump also alleged that the South African government is “confiscating” land and mistreating “certain classes of people,” declaring that Washington will not tolerate Pretoria’s “massive” human rights violation.
The feud began days after Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on most US international aid, including hundreds of millions of dollars South Africa receives from Washington for its HIV/AIDS program.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa expressed concern about the aid freeze, which he claimed accounts for approximately 17% of South Africa’s HIV/AIDS spending. He said his government is considering interventions to keep its vital HIV/AIDS services operational.
The African nation has been under pressure from Washington in recent years, in part due to its close ties with Russia. Since 2023, US lawmakers have sought to remove Pretoria from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allows South Africa and other eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export duty-free to the American market. Last month, a group of Republican Party leaders, who have reportedly been drawing attention to Pretoria’s reluctance to align with Washington’s stance on international policy, also asked Trump to scrap the AGOA, according to Fox News.
