SA will host a meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group of countries from February 20-21 in Johannesburg. South Africa has the G20 presidency from December 2024 to November 2025.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that "SA is confiscating land" and "certain classes of people" were being treated "very badly". He said he would cut funding until the matter was investigated.

President Cyril Ramaphosa defended South SA's land policy after Trump's threat, saying the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at ensuring equitable public access to land.

KEY QUOTES

"SA is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote solidarity, equality, & sustainability. In other words: DEI and climate change," Rubio said in his post on X, without giving details.

CONTEXT

Trump has complained about SA's land policy. SA-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, also accused SA, without evidence, of having "openly racist ownership laws", suggesting white people were the victims.

The question of land ownership is highly politically charged in South Africa due to the legacy of the colonial and apartheid eras when Black people were dispossessed of their lands and denied property rights.

White landowners still possess three quarters of SA's freehold farmland. This contrasts with 4% owned by Black people, who make up 80% of the population compared with about 8% for whites, according to the latest 2017 land audit.

Partly in an effort to redress this imbalance, Ramaphosa signed a law last month allowing the state to expropriate land "in the public interest".

The Trump administration has attempted to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the US government. Rights groups say DEI programs help deal with inequities faced by marginalized groups. Trump calls DEI anti-merit.

--Reuters--