Africa-Press – South-Africa. Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Ronald Lamola has confirmed that South Africa’s special envoy to the United States has not set foot in the US in an official capacity.
Responding to a parliamentary question asked by DA MP Emma Powell, the department said the envoy, Mcebisi Jonas, has yet to travel to the United States for official business.
“The Special Envoy has yet to travel to the US for official business,” he said. “However, it must be noted that the sensitive and confidential work of the Special Envoys is never publicised.”
The confirmation from Lamola underlines South Africa’s strained and questionable approach to dealing with the United States.
The country has been without official representation in the US since former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was declared persona non grata in March.
Rasool was booted from the country after he aired highly critical views of US President Donald Trump and his administration.
Instead of appointing a new ambassador to represent South Africa’s interests in Washington, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Jonas as a special envoy.
At the time, Ramaphosa said that Jonas was entrusted with the responsibility to “advance South Africa’s diplomatic, trade and bilateral priorities” as well as “lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US government officials and private-sector leaders to promote our nation’s interests”.
Jonas would be embroiled in his own anti-Trump saga soon after, when previous comments he made—also critical of Trump—surfaced.
The Democratic Alliance later revealed that the Trump administration had rejected Jonas in May due to these comments and denied his “credentials.”
This made it clear that at least one of his tasks as special envoy—engaging with the US government—would not be happening.
DIRCO later stated that a special envoy is not an official diplomatic representative, and so there were no credentials to present for the White House to deny.
It also stressed that Jonas’ job as an envoy is not open to public scrutiny, and he did not necessarily have to be in the United States to do it.
The department downplayed the saga, accusing the DA of pushing negative sentiment about South Africa, and assuring that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTIC) was negotiating with Washington over the trade tariffs.
The strategy did not pay off
South Africa’s special envoy to the United States, Mcebisi Jonas
The questionable strategy to have no official representation in the United States—and a special envoy to the country not actually go to the country—has not paid off for South Africa.
Trump signed an executive order on 31 July, imposing a 30% tariff on South Africa’s exports while remaining highly critical of local policies and relations with the US.
Since meeting with Trump personally at the White House in May, where Jonas was noticeably absent, Ramaphosa’s administration has been portraying tough negotiations and open trade channels between the two countries.
However, this evidently amounted to nought, with South Africa receiving one of the highest tariffs doled out by Washington, leaving local government departments scrambling to do damage control.
The outcome should not have been a surprise for anyone in government, and yet, the state seemed wholly unprepared for it.
Leading up to the executive order, the DTIC admitted it was still trying to negotiate with the Trump administration at the 11th hour and not getting a warm reception.
After the tariff was confirmed via the executive order, the DTIC and DIRCO have outlined only vague remedies for businesses impacted by the move, promising action and relief sometime in the coming months.
The government insists that negotiations are continuing and has even stated that a new ambassador to the US will be appointed soon.
Unfortunately, this is five months late, after negotiations had already failed.
Source: businesstech
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