President Donald Trump has fallen out with South Africa after taking to Twitter to criticize the government’s land reforms, prompting a sharp rebuke from Pretoria.
Posting on Twitter early Thursday morning, Trump said he had instructed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “closely study the South Africa land and farm seizure and large scale killing of farmers.”
He included the handle of Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson in his tweet. Carlson had discussed the issue on his show Wednesday, introducing the segment by saying, “South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has just begun the process of seizing land from his own citizens, without compensation, because they’re the wrong skin color. That is literally the definition of racism.”
Carlson then went on to criticize “elites” that criticize Trump for racism while “paying no attention” to the “racist government of South Africa.”
The segment seems to have prompted Trump to instruct Pompeo to look into the matter.
Trump’s comment on South Africa is the first time he has used the word “Africa” on the social media platform since becoming president.
The South African government was quick to respond Thursday. “South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past,” the government said.
In a second tweet also directed at Trump, Pretoria said it would “speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation.”
Land reforms in South Africa are high on the government’s agenda, however, and have stirred controversy.
At the start of August, President Ramaphosa announced plans by the ruling African National Congress to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation (EWC).
The government sees these changes as a way to boost the country’s agricultural sector and economy. Opponents say EWC is a threat to food security and the economy.
The bulk of South Africa‘s land is owned by its minority white population, a vestige of its colonial past, thus they are likely to be most affected by the changes.
Despite the era of apartheid – South Africa’s institutionalized segregation of races – ending in the early 1990s and the first black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, being elected in 1994, racial and economic divisions remain entrenched in the country a quarter of a century later.
Announcing the land reforms, Ramaphosa said the changes would “promote redress, advance economic development, increase agricultural production and food security.” The move alarmed investors and the rand fell to a one-week low against the dollar.
On Monday night, Ramaphosa went further, saying in a speech on land reforms that these were the only way to let a “festering wound” heal and that “black people want their land back,” national newspaper Business Day reported.
