President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s constitutionally embedded values of the respect for the rule of law, justice, fairness and equality, when he spoke with Elon Musk on Monday.

The Presidency said on the X platform, which is owned by Musk, that Ramaphosa spoke to the South African-born businessman on issues of misinformation and distortions about the country.

This after Musk asked Ramaphosa, on the X platform, “why do you have openly racist ownership laws?” and after US President Donald Trump accused South Africa of “treating its citizens badly” and vowed to cut off all future funding to the country. 

Ramaphosa signed into law the Expropriation Bill, which has been met with criticism for its clause on nil compensation in certain cases.

Lobby groups such as AfriForum and its mother body the Solidarity Movement are fiercely opposed to the legislation and have launched international awareness campaigns to call to attention what they believe is an attack on property rights.

This caught the attention of the controversial US President, who began a maelstrom on Monday in his false comments that South Africa was confiscating land, and which angered South African politicians, including Ramaphosa.

The Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress (ANC) have since sought to address misconceptions around the Expropriation Act amid Trump's threats, while the ANC accused AfriForum of orchestrating a misinformation campaign that the US had decided to amplify.

Ramaphosa explained that the Expropriation Act was not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensured public access to land “in an equitable and just manner as guided by the Constitution”.

“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners,” he said on Monday, in response to Trump.

Ramaphosa said South Africa looked forward “to engaging with the Trump administration over its land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest”, and expressed optimism that these meetings would result in a better, and common, understanding.