DIRCO Delegate Meets With Officials From USA, Clarifies Misconceptions Surrounding Expropriation Act

• Members from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) met with officials from the USA
• The delegation sought to clarify any misconceptions the USA may have had about the Expropriation Act
• DIRCO members clarified that the nil compensation clause was not designed to facilitate unlawful land seizures

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) met with officials from the United States of America to clarify any misconceptions regarding the Expropriation Act.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the act caused tensions between the USA and South Africa. This also led to US President Donald Trump cutting funding to the country, publicly stating that terrible things were happening there.

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Tensions escalated further when AfriForum and Solidarity met with officials from Trump’s administration, seeking intervention and claiming the South African government was unfairly targeting the Afrikaner minority with racist laws.

DIRCO attempts to set the record straight about the Act

Following meetings at the United Nations General Assembly at the end of March 2025, DIRCO Director-General Zane Dangor was part of a delegation that met with officials from the US. The delegation met with the National Security Council's Africa director, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, as well as treasury department representatives from Trump’s administration.

During the dialogue between the two parties, DIRCO representatives sought to clarify any misconceptions caused by AfriForum and Solidarity’s visits.

Delegation says nil compensation doesn’t equate to unlawful land seizures

DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri stated that the delegation clarified to officials that the nil compensation clause was not designed to facilitate unlawful land seizures.

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"We believe these dialogues will assist to refine the current administration's understanding of South Africa's position on critical matters, fostering a more nuanced perspective," Phiri said.

He added that they also clarified misconceptions about race laws designed to undermine minority rights. He said these laws were intended to address structural inequality as a legacy of Apartheid.

Elon Musk has claimed on more than one occasion that the country had racist laws and that there was a white genocide happening in South Africa.

What you need to know about the Expropriation Act

• The Economic Freedom Fighters, Democratic Alliance and uMkhonto weSizwe Party opposed the signing of the Expropriation Bill into law
• Minister Dean Macpherson remained defiant over the implementation of the Expropriation Bill
• The African National Congress insisted that the process of signing the Expropriation Bill into law was fair
• President Cyril Ramaphosa called on the Trump administration to engage with the SA government over the land reform policy
• The United States government signed an executive order declaring it would promote the resettlement of Afrikaners in the US

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EFF wants to expropriate land, not rotten buildings

Briefly News reported that Julius Malema criticised the current version of the Land Expropriation Act.

The EFF leader said they wanted expropriation without compensation and wanted to expropriate fertile land.

South Africans were not impressed with Malema's comments, asking if he would know what to do with a farm.

Source: Briefly News