Warning of dire consequences for SA as US funding dwindles

Analysts have warned of dire consequences for SA following threats by US President Donald Trump over land expropriation and “bad treatment of certain classes”.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said Trump simply added SA to a growing list of countries that were receiving his attention.

“There are specific issues brought to Trump’s attention by those close to SA and his backers. His remarks reflect the views not necessarily of him, but of perhaps of some of these backers and potentially Elon Musk,” he said.

Trump’s remarks reflect views not of him

South African-born Musk endorsed Trump’s post on X by reposting it and wrote “true”.

Silke said the threats to SA were real and would have a substantial impact on SA social service, trade, business and job creation.

Silke said there were valid concerns about the policy environment within SA, and those concerns were land expropriation and the potential to exploit the Bill in future and undermine property rights in SA.

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“But the way to engage upon this is not through threats, but rather through cooperation and diplomacy. For the Trump administration to take this particular line that they have taken consistently across the world with many other allies, will not find favour in SA that would prefer a more diplomatic stance. It is unusual for a foreign country to have such a strong reaction to a domestic policy issue,” he said.

Political lecturer at the University of Pretoria Roland Henwood said this was not good for SA and could only get worse if left unchecked.

“It shows the consequences of poor communication and uninformed posturing – both from within SA and in the US,” he said.

Consequences of poor communication and uninformed posturing

Henwood said it also showed a negative perception of SA growing in the US, not only with Trump, but also in Congress and Washington circles.

“The US is important for SA and will remain so regardless of the preferences and ideas of individuals in SA, and the negatives of SA alienating the US will not in the short to medium term be made up for by other countries,” he said.

Henwood said SA must think carefully about issues such as this and how its domestic and foreign policy posture will affect its global standing.

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“SA has to take these threats extremely seriously, it’s economy is relatively small in a global sense. The US is our secondbiggest trading partner. That trade has an effect on us and our well-being, but has no effect on the US,” he said.

Political analyst Piet Croucamp said one had to see this in the context of what Trump was doing with the 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada, 10% against China and his threats to also impose tariffs on Germany for car imports.

“This is just the beginning. The African Growth Opportunity Act will probably also kick off SA. These are difficult times for the world, not just for SA. Inflation will rise worldwide, there will be higher interest rates and the process will hit the middle class the hardest and will have a great influence on the economy worldwide,” he said.

Role of foreign powers in influencing domestic policy decisions

Political analyst Dr Rene Oosthuizen said Trump’s characterisation of South Africa’s land reform as confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly oversimplified a nuanced policy issue.

“Trump’s stance raises serious questions about the role of foreign powers in influencing domestic policy decisions in sovereign states. This highlights the potential for global superpowers to use financial aid as leverage to assert ideological or political preferences,” she said.

Oosthuizen said rather than resorting to punitive measures or inflammatory statements, Trump should engage SA through multilateral forums to offer technical assistance or policy advice where appropriate.

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