Groups calling on US to intervene in SA in crosshairs

President Cyril Ramaphosa has not ruled out the possibility of government taking action against lobby groups calling on the US and President Donald Trump to act against South Africa's racial laws and provide humanitarian assistance for Afrikaner development.

- Faizel Patel

Afrikaner lobby groups, including Solidarity and AfriForum, met senior Trump administration officials at the White House in February last year and delivered the “Washington Memorandum”.

The memorandum focused on government policies, including the Expropriation Act and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), which the groups argue threaten property rights and economic stability.

AfriForum and Solidarity urged the Trump administration to pressure the ANC-led government to amend the Expropriation Act.

Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law on 23 January last year, setting new guidelines for land expropriation without compensation.

The Bill, which replaced the Expropriation Act of 1975, allows land expropriation without compensation if it's in the public interest or for a public purpose.