South Africa DA Criticizes Ramaphosa Praise of Zimbabwe Land Reform

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently praised Zimbabwe’s early-2000s land reform programme as essential and ambitious for addressing historical injustices and revitalizing agriculture during his visit to the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show. However, South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), strongly criticized his remarks, arguing that the policy devastated Zimbabwe’s economy, created famine, and resulted in crippling financial reparations due to the lack of legal land transfers. The DA also accused Ramaphosa of attempting to rehabilitate Zimbabwe’s failed model to justify the African National Congress’s (ANC) controversial land expropriation agenda under South Africa’s 2025 Expropriation Act. While the DA supports land reform that restores dignity and economic opportunity, it insists such reforms must be constitutional and respect property rights, opposing expropriation without compensation. The DA emphasized that their stance does not equate to endorsing Zimbabwe’s land confiscation programme and reaffirmed the need for lawful and fair land reform in South Africa. These developments highlight deep political divisions over land policy in South Africa and concerns about the potential economic and legal consequences of land expropriation.