US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he won\u2019t attend a Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg later this month, citing among his reasons South Africa\u2019s new land-expropriation law, which has been assailed by President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSouth Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote \u2018solidarity, equality, & sustainability.\u2019 In other words: DEI and climate change,\u201d Rubio said in a post on X Wednesday night of his decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is unusual for a secretary of state to skip a G-20 summit, and Rubio\u2019s absence carries the risk of the US being left out of deliberations by some of the world\u2019s wealthiest countries, even as the Trump administration has crippled the US Agency for International Development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this week, Trump said the US would cut off all funding to South Africa over land policy. The US has\u00a0accounted for\u00a0more than $8 billion in bilateral aid to the country over the last two decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, Cyril Ramaphosa, the country\u2019s president, signed a bill that gives the government the authority to take property in the public interest on the condition that the owner receives \u201cjust and equitable\u201d compensation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It contains a provision for nothing to be paid in some instances, such as when land isn\u2019t being used or has been acquired for speculative purposes with no concrete intention to develop it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elon Musk, Trump\u2019s billionaire ally who was born in South Africa, has spread the conspiracy theory of a \u201cgenocide\u201d against White farmers in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramaphosa\u2019s political party, the African National Congress, has long advocated expropriation to redress the legacy of Apartheid, which forbade most Black South Africans from owning property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa hasn\u2019t confiscated any land, Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His foreign minister defended the law, which he said is similar to the eminent domain principles in the US and the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, the uproar prompted a sell-off of the rand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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