The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it was concerned about US President Donald Trump’s threats to cut funding to South Africa owing to the Expropriation Act, while the African National Congress (ANC) took aim at lobby group AfriForum for “deliberately” misrepresenting the Act.

Trump threatened to withdraw aid to South Africa owing to his view that the recently enacted Expropriation Act is leading to the confiscation of land.

Following Trump’s comments, which were made initially on his Truth Social account and later reinforced in a brief television interview, the South African Presidency said government had not confiscated any land.

It also underlined South Africa’s status as a “constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality”.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said while there were concerns around the Act, it was not true that it allowed land to be seized arbitrarily by the State as claimed by lobbyists.

“…and it does require fair compensation for legitimate expropriations in terms of Section 25 of the Constitution. It is unfortunate that individuals have sought to portray this Act as an amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for Expropriation Without Compensation,” he said.

The ANC accused AfriForum of orchestrating a misinformation campaign that the US had decided to amplify.

“President Trump's recent tweet, echoing AfriForum's false claims of ‘land confiscation’, is a direct result of the lobby group's ongoing efforts to mislead the global community and protect apartheid-era land ownership patterns. AfriForum has long positioned itself as a defender of white minority privilege, using fear-mongering to undermine South Africa's constitutional and lawful land reform programme. Their campaign is not about justice but about blocking economic transformation and maintaining an oppressive status quo,” the party said.

It described the Expropriation Act as a “fair, constitutional mechanism” to reverse historical land dispossession and noted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s optimism that a meeting with Trump would result in common understanding.

The DA lent its support to the Government of National Unity’s attempt to engage with Trump to clarify the situation, describing the US’s partnership with South Africa as valuable, particularly as US funding assists with crucial HIV/Aids treatment and support services and humanitarian and environmental programmes.

“It would be a tragedy if this funding were terminated because of a misunderstanding of the facts. Property rights are foundational to the success of our economy and the DA will always fight to ensure they are fully protected. We successfully opposed any change to Section 25 of the Constitution, which protects property rights, and we will continue to work to ensure the Expropriation Amendment Act is constitutionally sound in every respect,” Steenhuisen said.

Meanwhile, the ANC said the “weaponizing” of misinformation has encouraged the perpetuation of racist narratives, blaming AfriForum for calling on “external intervention” on sovereign South Africa’s policies that seeks to redress apartheid injustices.

“…the ANC will not tolerate racist distortions aimed at undermining our national sovereignty and transformation agenda. We call on all progressive forces, both locally and globally, to reject AfriForum's divisive agenda and stand with South Africa in its pursuit of justice, equity, and meaningful land reform,” the party said.