🎬Grammy Recap

CURRENCIES

GEOPOLITICS
Trump is moving to cut all US funding to South Africa

On Sunday, President Trump announced that he would cut all funding to South Africa and has launched an investigation into the country's policies, claiming that a “massive" human rights violation against white people is happening over a new land expropriation law.

He added on Truth Social posts that the expropriation law treated “certain classes of people, very badly”, promising to launch an investigation and halt all US funding till it was complete.

What we know. Last month, the South African government passed a law allowing it to recover land from private individuals if it is in the public interest. However, the government says people's rights are still protected, and land can only be taken in specific circumstances where it is not being used productively. President Ramaphosa released a statement on Monday, saying “the expropriation act is not a confiscation instrument” and that the owner's race was not a factor in deciding which land to confiscate.

However, the South African government on Monday said “The new law, is meant to help redress the impact of decades of white minority rule in South Africa under the apartheid regime, which ended in 1994.” suggesting a racial profile to the confiscations.

It’s always a game of interest

Trump’s newfound ally, Elon Musk who is South African has also long held a stance against Ramaphosa’s government, accusing it of being anti-white and claiming in 2023 that it was allowing a “genocide” against white farmers. Last year, South Africa banned Starlink from operating within its borders, stating that it required Musk to hand down 30% of ownership rights to local and historically disadvantaged groups before it could be registered.

No cause for alarm, yet. According to President Ramaphosa, only PEPFAR (The US’ grant for AIDS treatment) currently stands as the form of aid South Africa receives from the US. The funding was already under threat after Trump's freeze on foreign aid globally. -OA.

TRENDING
Our 2025 Grammy Recap

Beyoncé wins big at the 67th Grammy Awards. As host Trevor Noah pointed out, Beyoncé has 99 nominations, and now, album of the year is won. The most-nominated and most-awarded artist in Grammy history, Queen Bey, won her first AOTY award for Cowboy Carter, which also was honored with Best Country Album.

‘Diss of The Year’ rapper, Kendrick Lamar, took home ‘Record of the Year’ and ‘Song of the Year’ for “Not Like Us”. Tems beat Yemi Alade and Burna Boy to take home the Best African Music Performance nod. Taylor Swift went home with no Grammy eggs, a recurring story for Nigerian artist, Davido.

The awards show paid tribute to legendary producer, Quincy Jones, who died in November, and centered around the victims and devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires. Noah’s frequent pleas to donate raised $7 million from viewers at home, he said before the show wrapped. Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department presented the Album of the Year award.

SHOWER THOUGHTS

NEWS
Round the continent

• Musk and Trump moved to permanently shut down USAID yesterday, spiking concerns about foreign assistance programs in African countries.

• Tems beat Yemi Alade, Asake, and Davido’s collab with Chris Brown to win Africa’s Best Performance at the Grammys.

• South Africa set a March deadline for Taiwan to relocate its de facto embassy outside of the capital Pretoria. Taiwan has accused China of being behind the directive.

• British drinks maker Diageo will sell its majority stake in Guinness Ghana to French wine producer Castel for $81 million. It sold its Nigerian business last year for $70 million.