South Africa Leader Calls Musk Over Land Law Fight.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa talked with Elon Musk to ease anger about a new land law. This came after US President Donald Trump said he might stop sending money to South Africa.
Trump thinks South Africa takes land away and treats some groups badly. Musk, who was born in South Africa, asked on X why Ramaphosa made laws that he called unfair to some races.
Ramaphosa's office said he told Musk that South Africa follows fair rules and treats everyone the same under the law.
Last month, Ramaphosa signed a law that lets the state take land without paying in some cases. Land rights remain a hard issue in South Africa. White people owned most private farms 30 years after the racist system called apartheid ended.
Many ask the government to fix past wrongs about land. Ramaphosa said his team had not taken any land yet.
Trump wrote online that he would stop sending funds to South Africa until he checked what happened there. He later told news people that South African leaders did bad things.
The new law says land can be taken without pay if it helps the public good. This means empty land that no one uses or land that puts people at risk.
Land fights started long ago in South Africa. In 1913, British rulers made laws that kept black people from owning most land. This made black people live in poor areas away from good land.
The unfair rules made people fight harder against white rule. Nelson Mandela became president in 1994 when all South Africans could vote for the first time.
Before this new law, the state had to buy land from owners who wanted to sell. Some think this made changes happen very slowly.
A study showed that white people owned 72% of private farms in 2017, yet they make up just 7.3% of all South Africans.
Some fear the new law might harm South Africa, as similar rules have damaged Zimbabwe's money system and scared away business people.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa talked with Elon Musk to ease anger about a new land law. This came after US President Donald Trump said he might stop sending money to South Africa.
Trump thinks South Africa takes land away and treats some groups badly. Musk, who was born in South Africa, asked on X why Ramaphosa made laws that he called unfair to some races.
Ramaphosa's office said he told Musk that South Africa follows fair rules and treats everyone the same under the law.
Last month, Ramaphosa signed a law that lets the state take land without paying in some cases. Land rights remain a hard issue in South Africa. White people owned most private farms 30 years after the racist system called apartheid ended.
Many ask the government to fix past wrongs about land. Ramaphosa said his team had not taken any land yet.
Trump wrote online that he would stop sending funds to South Africa until he checked what happened there. He later told news people that South African leaders did bad things.
The new law says land can be taken without pay if it helps the public good. This means empty land that no one uses or land that puts people at risk.
Land fights started long ago in South Africa. In 1913, British rulers made laws that kept black people from owning most land. This made black people live in poor areas away from good land.
The unfair rules made people fight harder against white rule. Nelson Mandela became president in 1994 when all South Africans could vote for the first time.
Before this new law, the state had to buy land from owners who wanted to sell. Some think this made changes happen very slowly.
A study showed that white people owned 72% of private farms in 2017, yet they make up just 7.3% of all South Africans.
Some fear the new law might harm South Africa, as similar rules have damaged Zimbabwe's money system and scared away business people.
