Lady Whistledown
JF-Expert Member
- Aug 2, 2021
- 1,147
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Rais wa Marekani, Donald Trump, amesaini amri ya kiutendaji ya kukata msaada wa kifedha kwa Afrika Kusini, ambao ulikuwa karibu dola milioni 440 mwaka 2023.
White House ilieleza kuwa hatua hii imesababishwa na kutoridhishwa kwa Marekani na sera ya ardhi ya Afrika Kusini pamoja na kesi iliyofunguliwa na taifa hilo katika Mahakama ya Kimataifa ya Haki (ICJ) dhidi ya Israel.
Washington pia imepanga kuanzisha mpango wa kuwahamisha wakulima wazungu wa Afrika Kusini pamoja na familia zao kama wakimbizi nchini Marekani.
Suala la ardhi nchini Afrika Kusini limekuwa na mvutano mkubwa kutokana na historia ya ukoloni na ubaguzi wa rangi. Rais Cyril Ramaphosa ametetea sera yake ya kuhamasisha ugawaji upya wa ardhi kwa usawa, akisema kuwa hakuna ardhi iliyonyakuliwa na serikali.
Hata hivyo, Trump na baadhi ya washirika wake, akiwemo Elon Musk, wanadai kuwa wazungu wanabaguliwa kupitia sera hizo. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya 2017, wazungu wanamiliki 75% ya ardhi ya kilimo, wakati watu weusi, ambao ni 80% ya wakazi, wanamiliki 4% pekee.
Mbali na sera ya ardhi, hatua ya Afrika Kusini ya kufungua kesi ya mauaji ya halaiki dhidi ya Israel katika ICJ pia imechangia uamuzi wa Trump. Washington inahisi kuwa Afrika Kusini inachukua msimamo unaopinga maslahi yake na yale ya washirika wake.
Israel inakanusha tuhuma za mauaji ya halaiki, ikisema kuwa mashambulizi yake Gaza yalikuwa ya kujilinda baada ya shambulio la Hamas la Oktoba 7, 2023. Serikali ya Afrika Kusini, kupitia Ramaphosa, imeeleza kuwa haitakubali kushinikizwa na Marekani kuhusu sera zake za ndani na msimamo wake wa kimataifa.
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Trump Signs Order to Cut Funding for South Africa Over Land Policy, ICJ Case
By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, the White House said on Friday, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington's ally Israel.
The United States allocated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent U.S. government data shows.
The White House said Washington will also formulate a plan to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.
It said U.S. officials will take steps to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Afrikaners in South Africa, who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" were treated "very badly." South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said that white South Africans have been the victims of "racist ownership laws."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - who signed into law a bill last month aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest - has defended the policy. He has said the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at evening out racial disparities in land ownership in the Black-majority nation. Ramaphosa said South Africa "will not be bullied."
Washington has also complained about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over Israel's military assault on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Israel denies the allegations, saying it acted in self-defense following a deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
The White House cited that case as an example of South Africa taking positions against Washington and its allies.
The executive order signed by Trump will address human rights issues in South Africa, the White House said. Trump had threatened to cut off funding for the nation soon after taking office.
The question of land ownership is highly politically charged in South Africa, due to the legacy of the colonial and apartheid eras when Black people were dispossessed of their lands and denied property rights.
White landowners still possess three-quarters of South Africa's freehold farmland. This contrasts with 4% owned by Black people, who make up 80% of the population compared with about 8% for whites, according to the latest 2017 land audit
Source: Reuters
White House ilieleza kuwa hatua hii imesababishwa na kutoridhishwa kwa Marekani na sera ya ardhi ya Afrika Kusini pamoja na kesi iliyofunguliwa na taifa hilo katika Mahakama ya Kimataifa ya Haki (ICJ) dhidi ya Israel.
Washington pia imepanga kuanzisha mpango wa kuwahamisha wakulima wazungu wa Afrika Kusini pamoja na familia zao kama wakimbizi nchini Marekani.
Suala la ardhi nchini Afrika Kusini limekuwa na mvutano mkubwa kutokana na historia ya ukoloni na ubaguzi wa rangi. Rais Cyril Ramaphosa ametetea sera yake ya kuhamasisha ugawaji upya wa ardhi kwa usawa, akisema kuwa hakuna ardhi iliyonyakuliwa na serikali.
Hata hivyo, Trump na baadhi ya washirika wake, akiwemo Elon Musk, wanadai kuwa wazungu wanabaguliwa kupitia sera hizo. Kwa mujibu wa ripoti ya 2017, wazungu wanamiliki 75% ya ardhi ya kilimo, wakati watu weusi, ambao ni 80% ya wakazi, wanamiliki 4% pekee.
Mbali na sera ya ardhi, hatua ya Afrika Kusini ya kufungua kesi ya mauaji ya halaiki dhidi ya Israel katika ICJ pia imechangia uamuzi wa Trump. Washington inahisi kuwa Afrika Kusini inachukua msimamo unaopinga maslahi yake na yale ya washirika wake.
Israel inakanusha tuhuma za mauaji ya halaiki, ikisema kuwa mashambulizi yake Gaza yalikuwa ya kujilinda baada ya shambulio la Hamas la Oktoba 7, 2023. Serikali ya Afrika Kusini, kupitia Ramaphosa, imeeleza kuwa haitakubali kushinikizwa na Marekani kuhusu sera zake za ndani na msimamo wake wa kimataifa.
............
Trump Signs Order to Cut Funding for South Africa Over Land Policy, ICJ Case
By Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, the White House said on Friday, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington's ally Israel.
The United States allocated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent U.S. government data shows.
The White House said Washington will also formulate a plan to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.
It said U.S. officials will take steps to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Afrikaners in South Africa, who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that "South Africa is confiscating land" and that "certain classes of people" were treated "very badly." South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said that white South Africans have been the victims of "racist ownership laws."
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa - who signed into law a bill last month aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest - has defended the policy. He has said the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at evening out racial disparities in land ownership in the Black-majority nation. Ramaphosa said South Africa "will not be bullied."
Washington has also complained about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over Israel's military assault on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.
Israel denies the allegations, saying it acted in self-defense following a deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.
The White House cited that case as an example of South Africa taking positions against Washington and its allies.
The executive order signed by Trump will address human rights issues in South Africa, the White House said. Trump had threatened to cut off funding for the nation soon after taking office.
The question of land ownership is highly politically charged in South Africa, due to the legacy of the colonial and apartheid eras when Black people were dispossessed of their lands and denied property rights.
White landowners still possess three-quarters of South Africa's freehold farmland. This contrasts with 4% owned by Black people, who make up 80% of the population compared with about 8% for whites, according to the latest 2017 land audit
Source: Reuters
