US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off “all future funding” to South Africa, in what appears to be a response to the signing of the Expropriation Act last month.

Trump spoke to reporters on Sunday, claiming that certain classes of people were being treated poorly in South Africa and that the South African government was “confiscating land”.

This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa, on 23 January, assented to the contentious Expropriation Bill, with compensation on certain conditions. The DA, who largely contested the bill, has vowed to challenge the signing thereof.

READ MORE: Expropriation Bill: GNU on shaky ground?

Health funding

Trump’s recent assertion to stop all funding, comes after his executive order last month to temporarily stop US foreign aid for a period of 90 days. During that period all funding provided by the US is to be reviewed to see if it aligns with Trump’s “America First” policy.

This affected the funding programmes like the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, PEPFAR, which funds South African health facilities that provide aid programmes across the country. Several clinics have been advised to close their doors, while the situation was being assessed. And despite US Secretary of State Mark Rubio lifting the pause on foreign aid, there was and is uncertainty on whether services at these clinics will resume. According to Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, CEO of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre, this will have far-reaching negative impacts.

Meanwhile, Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, is reportedly set to meet with US government officials on Monday to discuss the situation. He told the SABC that his office was contacted by US officials on Friday, who requested this meeting. Prior to this, Motsoaledi told reporters at a briefing in Pretoria that the South African government had received no communication on the decision to halt humanitarian aid.

At that same briefing, he confirmed that the country relied on the US to fund local health programmes, but noted that only 17% of R44,4 billion for these programmes is funded by PEPFAR.

[Motsoaledi] The total amount spent on our HIV counselling and testing campaign is R44.4 billion with PEPFAR contributions being about 17% of that. We will meet with treasury to assess the matter, however it must be noted that government has not been informed about decision on… pic.twitter.com/KDsmoOmPW4

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) January 28, 2025

In the days that follow, Motsoaledi said that there are other international donors to assist with the country’s health campaigns.

With the unpredictability of US funding for health programmes in the country, Dr Munya Saruchera, Director at Stellenbosch University’s Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management, says President Cyril Ramaphosa must use the G20 presidency as an opportunity to garner alternative donors.

He says President Donald Trump’s order to temporarily suspend foreign funding shows that South Africa and other African countries need backup plans to fund their programmes.

“If we had been in a situation where we think PEPFAR is forever, we have just been reminded that there is nothing “forever” in this case. The Americans can just decide otherwise, as they may rightly do so as these are their resources. What then do we have to do, in that particular context? You look elsewhere, while you’re also beginning to seriously consider developing internal measures and mechanisms.”