Worldview: ANC defends SA sovereignty, rejects US criticism over land reform law

Key topics:ANC defends land reform law amid US criticismTrump labels expropriation policy racist, offers Afrikaners asylumPretoria insists on sovereignty, appoints envoy to ease tensions.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here. .By Kerry Lanaghan.Listen to this story instead:.South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has vigorously defended the country’s sovereignty amid mounting tensions with the United States over race relations and a contentious new land expropriation law. Speaking at a Freedom Day celebration in Mpumalanga, ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe responded to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the legislation allowing for land seizures without compensation under certain conditions. Trump’s executive order denounced the law as discriminatory against Afrikaners and opened the door for their asylum in the US, labelling them victims of racial injustice. Mantashe rejected this narrative, asserting South Africa’s right to self-governance and chastising South Africans seeking American intervention or refugee status. He emphasised that the country would not be dictated to by foreign powers and derided those looking to the US for salvation.The land issue remains deeply sensitive, as white South Africans, though a minority, still control the bulk of the land and wealth decades after apartheid ended. Tensions over land reform have spilt onto social media, with figures like Elon Musk describing South Africa’s policies as “racist.” In response to escalating diplomatic strain, including the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Mcebisi Jonas as a special envoy to Washington to manage diplomatic and trade relations.The dispute is further complicated by moves from the Afrikaner-founded separatist town of Orania, whose representatives recently visited the US to lobby for recognition as an autonomous state. In his speech, Mantashe pushed back against Orania’s ethnic exclusivity, suggesting integration rather than separation. He declared that national unity and peace, not division, would strengthen the country. The government maintains that its land reform agenda is about redressing historical injustices and ensuring equitable access, not targeting any racial group unfairly. As political and diplomatic fallout continues, South Africa remains firm in asserting its autonomy and pushing back against what it perceives as neo-colonial interference.(This article is a précis of a piece originally published in BBC and can be read in full here.)

Worldview: ANC defends SA sovereignty, rejects US criticism over land reform law

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