Africa: Trump’s Funding Cuts Will Hurt South Africa and the Region

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Despite Ramaphosa’s downplaying of their potential impact, the reality is that South Africa and the continent are at grave risk.

It has been four days since United States (US) President Donald Trump declared on Truth Social that he would be ‘cutting off all future funding to South Africa’ until an investigation into the Land Expropriation Act was complete. He called the act ‘a massive human rights violation’ and falsely accused the South African government of ‘confiscating land and treating certain classes of people very badly.’

Trump’s claims have since been widely refuted by government leaders and civil society organisations countrywide, with the notable exception of AfriForum – which is reportedly behind Trump’s misinformation campaign against South Africa. The Land Expropriation Act, similar to the law of eminent domain in the US, grants the government the power to acquire private land for public use as long as fair compensation is provided.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response was measured. He said South Africa was a ‘constitutional democracy deeply committed to the rule of law, justice and equality.’ And that apart from PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) Aid, which accounts for 17% of the country’s HIV/AIDS programme, ‘there is no other significant funding provided by the United States in South Africa.’

Despite Ramaphosa’s best efforts to confront Trump’s threats and alleviate public concerns about the potential loss of US funding, the reality is quite different.

In 2024 alone, the US provided US$453 million (R8.5 billion) in direct funding to South Africa under PEPFAR, with a projected US$439 million (R8.2 billion) in 2025.

In 2024, US Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes invested nearly US$60 million in initiatives to address climate change, promote gender equality, support community-based violence prevention, and uphold democratic principles. That is hardly insignificant considering the many non-governmental organisations in South Africa relying on international donors, among which USAID has always been a major player.

On 4 February, John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance – formerly South Africa’s main opposition party and since 2024, a Government of National Unity (GNU) member – expressed this heightened sense of concern. He said it would be a ‘tragedy’ for South Africa to lose funding over the misunderstanding, and that the GNU would engage with Trump to clarify the situation.

The decision to cut US funds to South Africa comes just one week after Trump announced a freeze on all foreign aid. The world is still grappling with the repercussions, particularly for African countries that have relied on this support for decades. The crisis is compounded by the rapid dismantling of USAID over the weekend.

Although a US federal court temporarily blocked the freeze last week, Trump seems uninterested in respecting the limits of his executive power. He has enlisted Elon Musk to purge whatever he considers ‘wasteful’ expenditure by the federal government.

Over the weekend, two USAID senior security officials were placed on administrative leave for denying members of Musk’s newly established Department of Government Efficiency (not even an official government department) access to USAID information systems.

Shortly thereafter, USAID’s website went offline. By Monday, USAID headquarters in Washington DC was closed, and CNN reported that Musk said the agency was ‘beyond repair’ and a ‘criminal organisation’ that should be ‘shut down.’

Trump and Musk clearly view lifesaving forms of aid – not just to South Africa but globally – as an unnecessary expense.

While concerns were growing about the implications of Trump’s potential re-election for South Africa amid a global rise in authoritarianism and a retreat from human rights principles, few anticipated South Africa would be targeted. And no one thought the US would cut funding entirely – not even drafters of that country’s controversial far-right Project 2025.

Considering Trump didn’t visit Africa once during his first term and made derogatory statements about the continent, his ignorance about the facts in South Africa and Africa more generally comes as no surprise.

Trump’s disinterest in Africa is underscored by a bulletin issued on Sunday by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Titled Bringing U.S. Foreign Policy Home: Advancing American Interests First, the bulletin talks about building ‘a prosperous Western Hemisphere’ by prioritising US relations in Central and South America over those in Africa and the rest of the world.

What could this mean for Africa?

According to USAID and US State Department data for 2022, every African country received some form of US aid, ranging from US$125 million to US$500 million. A total or partial withdrawal would hinder economic progress and exacerbate poverty, worsening humanitarian crises.

The US has offered vital financial and technical assistance to countries facing escalating security challenges. In 2024, programmes supporting democracy, human rights, governance and security accounted for 10% of USAID’s proposed US$8 billion African aid package. Leading recipients of US non-humanitarian aid were Nigeria (US$622 million), Mozambique (US$564 million), Tanzania (US$560 million), Uganda (US$559 million), and Kenya (US$512 million).

Discontinuing this funding raises the risk of increased human rights abuses and diminishing public trust in their governments, making countries vulnerable to more violent extremism. Terrorist groups often exploit low levels of citizen trust, security force abuses and underlying poverty and exclusion as their primary recruitment tools. The potential consequences are alarming, especially in West African nations, Somalia and Mozambique, where violent extremist groups cause widespread violence.