Johannesburg, Feb 9 (IANS): South Africa expressed concern over a US executive order to cut financial assistance to the country, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to cut financial assistance to South Africa, citing disapproval of its land policy and accusing the country of "seizing ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property." The move also comes amid South Africa's genocide case against Washington's ally, Israel, at the International Court of Justice, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United States allocated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, according to US media reports.

The row between the two countries began earlier this week when Trump threatened to withdraw funding for South Africa due to the recently signed Expropriation Act, which allows public institutions to expropriate land in the public interest.

"It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa's profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid," the DIRCO said in a statement.

"We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation. It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favor among decision-makers in the United States of America," the statement added.

The statement also described as "ironic" that the US government is offering the "most economically privileged" Afrikaners refuge in their country while simultaneously deporting people from other nations and asylum seekers.

In the executive order, the US administration said that it cannot support the South African government's alleged human rights violations and directed its agencies to halt aid to South Africa while offering refugee status to Afrikaner farmers.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday dismissed claims that the Expropriation Act was aimed at seizing land and expressed willingness to engage with the Trump administration on land reform policies and other bilateral issues.