President Cyril Ramaphosa has quickly refuted assertions by US President Donald Trump who threatened that South Africa will suffer financial consequences for “confiscating” land.

“South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land,” said Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya on Monday.

“The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution.

“South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners,” said Magwenya.

He said South Africa is seeking to engage the Trump administration over the land reform policy and matters of bilateral interests.

“We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters,” said Magwenya.

“The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa.”

However, Magwenya stated that with the exception of the (US) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding (Pepfar), which has funded the distribution of HIV/Aids treatment in South Africa and other countries for several years, South Africa does not rely on financial injections from Washington.

"The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. With the exception of Pepfar Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIV/Aids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States," said Magwenya.

The Presidency in Pretoria was on Monday reacting to Trump, who in a Fox News interview shared online, was asked if he was planning to cut aid to different African nations.

Trump responded: “No. It’s only South Africa, terrible things are happening in South Africa, the leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things ... so that's under investigation right now, we're making determinations and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing.