Trump puts SA on radar, gets ANC to think again on land: The Atlantic

EDINBURGH — South Africa is often ignored by the global media. But, the Gupta-linked state capture strategy and, more recently, Cyril Ramaphosa's land grab talk have attracted attention. A Tweet from Donald Trump, meanwhile, has helped get South Africa into the mainstream international media. Trump tweeted concerns about the killings of white farmers as well as land expropriation. While Trump has been criticised for stirring up white nationalist excitement over the South African land question, Trump's tweet has also had the effect of getting Ramaphosa to rethink the land strategy, says David Frum for The Atlantic. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

A former speech writer for President George W Bush has unpicked the South African land grab question piquing the interest of President Donald Trump. David Frum explains that Donald Trump's tweet seems to have actually changed real-world policy for the better.

"On Tuesday, South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) party withdrew 'for further consideration' a bill that would have authorised uncompensated land confiscations," he explains.

"The issue is not yet dead: The bill — not yet enacted into law — was withdrawn for reasons of procedure, not principle. The new South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, maintains he will soon introduce new land laws of his own. Yet there's no mistaking Ramaphosa's extreme discomfort with uncompensated land seizures," writes Frum.

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