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Posted on 05/12/2025 4:40:56 PM PDT by Morgana
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw aid relief funding from South Africa has been described by local faith leaders as a slap to God’s face.
The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa based in Johannesburg — representing approximately four million Christians in South Africa — stated that the sanctions against the country, which include termination of funding for Anti-Retroviral Treatment, are a punishment on the sick and those dying from HIV/Aids-related illnesses.
According to Foster Mohale, a spokesperson for the national department of health, roughly 7.8 million people in South Africa (SA) are living with HIV and 5.5 million are on ARVs.
Trump, whose administration has cut USAID and slapped tariffs on other nations in recent weeks, imposed sanctions on South Africa, stating white farmers are being killed and their farms forcefully seized without compensation. He signed an executive order in February saying he was addressing what he described as serious human rights violations occurring in South Africa.
In his order, Trump said the South African government overtly discriminates against ethnic minority descendants of settler groups.
“As long as South Africa continues to endorse bad actors globally and permits violent assaults on innocent and marginalized minority farmers, the United States will discontinue aid and assistance to the nation. The United States will implement a strategy to resettle these discriminated minorities in South Africa as refugees,” Trump said.
Concerns are that these sanctions are largely based on rumors, not facts. Brig. Athlenda Mathe, A national police spokesperson, said women, children, police officers and farm dwellers top the list of people murdered most in South Africa. Most farm dwellers are Black.
Mathe said from the 2020-2021 financial year to the period spanning 2023-2024, the police recorded 13,518 killings of women and 4,123 boy and girl children ages one month to 17. During this same period, there were 393 killings of police officers, both on and off duty; 101 farm dwellers’; 53 farmers; and 34 farm employees. Farms are mostly owned by whites and few Blacks.
But Linda Page, Chief Director Strategic Communications for South Africa’s Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development, stressed there are no incidents of forceful capture of land from white farmers by the state.
“The U.S. president has been fed with lies and has chosen to believe them without asking for any kind of proof. South Africa has laws and so if such invasion of someone’s farm were to happen at the hands of criminals, law enforcement would intervene,” Page said. “Land Reform in SA is governed by legislation and land for redistribution is acquired purchase from farmers on a willing buyer willing seller basis. And the payment of fair compensation.
“The state does not and has never forcibly removed any farmer from their farm since 1994. If any farmer’s land has been ‘grabbed,’ they would have reported such to the police among others, no such farmer exists in SA.” south african
While American Christians are divided on the job Trump has done in his first 100 days in office, South Africans — both white and Black — are not. They see it as a punishment against society’s most vulnerable.
The Rev. Moss Ntlha, general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, told media that the United States has chosen “to punish the sick and the dying is a tragedy that is a slap on the Lord’s face. His warning that at the end of history as we know it, He will tell us that whatever we did to the least, we did it to Him.
He added: “U.S. MAGA policy makers will realize at that point that it was not the poor, the sick and the hungry it was punishing, but the Lord Himself. The path to greatness is found by serving the least of these, not the wealthy, as Trump and his billionaire mates appear to think. As for the U.S. policy making, it lends credence to a suspicion that it is a tool of control and manipulating poor countries to comply with US policy choices.”
A pastor, who requested anonymity, said her daughter has been on ARVs since 2004.
“She is very hurt by President Trump’s decision. If people start buying ARVs for themselves she will not afford to buy them. She is unemployed and struggles to buy a full meal for herself and her children. I assist her financially,” she said.
Jaco van Wyk, a deaf reverend of the Dutch Reformed Church Effata-for-the-Deaf, said Trump cannot save people living with HIV.
“Unfortunately, Trump is not God. He may think he is a god. but he is just an instrument in this broken world,” van Wyk. “Unfortunately, Trump cannot save the people living with HIV and other sicknesses. He needs Jesus just as me and you. We need to trust God more for He is our provider and savior.” south african
Mohale said the U.S. funding withdrawal does not affect access to ARVs, but 15,000 individuals on the U.S. payroll have lost their jobs.
“The government buys 90% of ARVs using fiscus and the rest of 10% comes from Global Fund. So, the government is capable of providing life-saving treatment to all those diagnosed with HIV in the country. Those funded by USAID have already been laid off, but those funded by CDC and PEPFAR are within 90 days period of review,” Mohale said.
However, Dr. Criselda Kananda, a Christian and a longtime HIV activist who has sustained a healthy and productive life for 25 years without antiretroviral therapy, said the cut of funds implications extend far beyond medication access.
“The loss of jobs for healthcare workers and support staff funded by USAID can destabilize communities and undermine the progress we have made in combating HIV related health challenges,” Kananda said. “It is crucial to understand that healthcare is not just about medications; it encompasses a comprehensive support system, including education through campaigns, counselling, and community outreach which all combined encourage more people to seek to know their status and preventing the spread.”
A South African lawyer and Christian, Hans Moolman said trade between countries and aid extended to other nations, including African ones, is inherently voluntary.
“With foreign aid, most of us have grown to understand that it comes from a place of care and promoting human dignity around the world. Expectations are higher from a proclaimed dominant Christian country led by self-proclaimed Christian leaders,” he said. “Somewhere, these supposed to be important underlying convictions were removed from the equation and considerations of sanctions. The extent to which we are dependent on foreign aid and our inability to fund the shortfalls that will occur as a result thereof will become measurable in huge suffering amongst South Africans who had no say and had nothing to do with the loss of this critical support. One can only hope that shared values and caring will pave the way for the restoration of relationships.”
Political Science Prof. Dirk Kotzé of the University of South Africa highlighted a few well-known points about murders on farms: They consistently represent a very small portion — as authorities have noted — of the overall murder rate each year.
“Black farm workers are often also victims of farm murders,” Kotzé said. “The murderers are often known to the farmers such as their own workers or related family. Labour disputes are often a cause of it.”
Kotzé said land invasions happen mostly near residential or urban areas. He clarified that lack of formal housing has caused low-income citizens to occupy parts of a farm near the town to establish informal settlements.
“If forceful removal of land from farmers is equal to expropriation without compensation, then I’m not aware of any cases,” he added. “Another possible form of forceful removal is what I already mentioned, namely informal settlements on farms. It did happen but then in most instances the municipal authorities later bought the occupied land from the owners. I’m not aware of any land occupation for farming or agricultural purposes. Cattle and sheep theft is a serious problem in parts of South Africa.
“In some cases, black farm workers are killed in the process of pursuing the criminals. In conclusion, farm murders and statistics have become a highly politicized issue.”
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At the same time there are churches here and around the would that could step to the plate and help these people. Why does it always have to be the American taxpayer?
Also the video on this link? It said that AIDS has fallen to number 7 but will return to number 1 with the pulling of this funding. What year is this? It's not 1985 it's 2025 and the world knows how AIDS is transmitted. For real are these people that stupid? Do we have to tell them over and over not to ...oh skip it.
Yea it's a good think Trump pulled funding if they can't learn now they never will.
So get to work. Help your people. America is done. Start taking personal responsibility for a change.
This is more media crap.
Highlight or downplay as it fits the political agenda.
Of course all the sanctions Biden put in place on various countries hurt people, but then the media was justifying it.
“Faith Grifters”
Exactly.
It’s a humanitarian crisis of their own making.
I agree with you and isn’t South Africa owned by the Dutch? Let them take care of it.
They should find churches in America who would be willing to support their missions. IT’s NOT THE TAXPAYERS’ JOB!
Our church has a large Missions budget. I think that most evangelical churches do.
I hate these people who have the attitude that they’re entitled to OUR money!
ANC is a corrupt, failing regime, which is sponsoring marxism and a slow-moving genocide
The USA needs to call them out, and cut all aid to them.
South Africa was possibly the richest nation in Africa then the communists took over. I have no sympathy for them................
In the 1980s the GDP of South Africa was greater than the rest of Africa combined
If I was trying to politic to get the aid back, I’d try a different approach. Now, they’re saying, America bad for no longer giving us money. My approach; we are so grateful for the generosity America has shown. With that money we managed to (X, Y, Z). We’d like to continue this effort, so we have reached out to potential funding sources and to our friends and associates in America.
The you’re bad for not giving us stuff has worked and will not work. It’s very insulting. But the whole world takes that approach. To me it seems if the money started back up after that nasty approach I’d feel like I’d been taken for a ride by a bunch of grifters. (My guess is, that’s probably what was happening all along.)
Americans are very generous, but we need to clean up our own house now. We are trillions in debt. We have too many drug addicts, homeless, and criminals we need to do something about. We have seniors who can’t afford nursing homes, others who can’t afford medication, some people living paycheck to paycheck, children without fathers, and so on. We’ve had areas devastated by hurricanes and fires. Who is donating to help us? We need to fix our own problems and then we can reexamine our foreign aid policies, some of which have only been making officials rich and not helping the needy anyway.
Hardly any of the money goes anywhere except to grifters. Cut em off.
As to South Africa, its government should be caring for its people, in the same way that these United States should be caring for ours.
It pisses me off to read -- in fine Democrat language -- "U.S. MAGA policy makers will realize at that point that it was not the poor, the sick and the hungry it was punishing, but the Lord Himself. The path to greatness is found by serving the least of these, not the wealthy, as Trump and his billionaire mates appear to think. As for the U.S. policy making, it lends credence to a suspicion that it is a tool of control and manipulating poor countries to comply with US policy choices.”
South Africans! Care for your own. Faith grifters, so said another on this thread. Indeed.
And as to that Roys Report, it's been around for decades. And its address is in Chicago AND it wants your money too.
Was a rich country before they started murdering the white farmers.
“Huge Suffering’: South African Faith Leaders Condemn Cutoff of U.S. Humanitarian Aid...”
FU
How is any of this our fault, such that we are the bad guys for not paying for it all? Grifters.
“The state does not and has never forcibly removed any farmer from their farm since 1994. If any farmer’s land has been ‘grabbed,’ they would have reported such to the police among others, no such farmer exists in SA.”
____________
No such farmer exists, because they and their families are murdered.
I give what I give to legit animal rescue and veteran causes.
The United States recognized South Africa as an independent nation in 1929.
Dutch haven’t anything to do with it for quite a while.
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