Herman Mashaba Joins Donald Trump Chat As He Tears Into Elon Musk: “The Truth Will Always Triumph”
- ActionSA president Herman Mashaba entered the Donald Trump/SA debate with a targeted jab at Elon Musk
- Musk faces criticism for influencing Trump to pull funding from SA following the controversial Expropriation Bill
- Mashaba, in an X post, introduced the idea of Musk benefitting from the abhorrence of an Apartheid-era state
Source: Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG — The debate is raging about US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw "all aid" from South Africa and the reasons he gave for it.
Those sentiments — that the government was confiscating land and, consequently, mistreating certain classes of people — opened a giant can of worms, which continues to attract a tumult of responses.
ActionSA's Mashaba tears into Musk
President Cyril Ramaphosa's earlier move to sign the Expropriation Bill into law on Thursday, 23 January 2025, giving the state power to acquire private property for public use, heralded this torrent of criticism and rhetoric.
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Subsequently, Western media outlets described it as a controversial land seizure law. Briefly News reported that land expropriation would follow a just process, resulting in equitable compensation for the private individual.
The government can enforce expropriation measures should the state and property owner disagree after the former has made a reasonable offer. However, the law states that the property may not be appropriated arbitrarily.
Ramaphosa rebutted his counterpart's suggestions, emphatically stating that he should not meddle in South Africa's land question.
In the time since, ActionSA's Herman Mashaba has contributed to the debate, berating Elon Musk, whom many accused of influencing Trump to pull funding.
Trailing the outcome of the US elections, Briefly News reported in November that Musk secured an inaugural political stint in the Trump administration. The SA-born tech billionaire, alongside another entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, leads a newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
In his concise critical examination, Mashaba called out Musk, introducing the idea of the Apartheid-era state under which his kin had seemingly thrived.
In a post on X, he said:
"I still have to hear you say something about the atrocities of the racist and brutal country you were born in, declared by the international community as a crime against humanity.
"Unfortunately, you spew lies against our country, [and] misinform President Trump about what is happening. You [should] use your position to build a better and equitable world but [you] have chosen to do the opposite. The truth will always triumph," said Mashaba.
The former Johannesburg executive mayor's response followed Musk's to a statement under Ramaphosa's official X handle.
"Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?" Musk had asked.
SA's president's statement responded directly to Trump's earlier assertions, suggesting land confiscation. Ramaphosa had said in part:
"South Africa is a constitutional democracy, deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The government has not confiscated any land.
"The Expropriation Bill is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures equitable and just public access to land as guided by the constitution.
"SA as with the US 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," declared Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa said he looked forward to engaging with the Trump administration over the country's land reform policy and other bilateral interest issues.
US makes about-turn on HIV aid
In a related story, Briefly News reported that the decision by the Trump administration to suddenly halt the provision of life-saving HIV treatment funding to countries, including South Africa, sent a ripple coursing far and wide.
However, on Tuesday, 28 January 2025, the US State Department rescinded the decision, stemming from a freeze imposed in Trump's first week back in office.
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Source: Briefly News
