{"id":94982,"date":"2026-01-06T17:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble"},"modified":"2026-01-06T18:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T18:01:28","slug":"south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble","title":{"rendered":"South Africa heading for deep trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The confirmation of Leo Brent Bozell III as the new Ambassador of the United States to South Africa means that elevated tension between the two countries is inevitable.<\/p>\n

In this case, South Africa is likely to come off second best, with the country needing to shift the relationship away from political disagreements towards trade, investment and deeper diplomatic ties.<\/p>\n

This is feedback from the Centre for Risk Analysis\u2019 (CRA) Ofentse Donald Davhie, who outlined the potential impacts of Bozell\u2019s appointment as Ambassador to South Africa.<\/p>\n

Davhie explained that the appointment comes amidst increasingly tense relations between South Africa and the United States, with little progress being made on finding common ground.<\/p>\n

Washington has become increasingly frustrated by South Africa\u2019s inability to meaningfully address its demands in negotiations over a trade deal.<\/p>\n

Relations began deteriorating between the two countries in 2023, when Ambassador Reuben E. Brigety II accused South Africa of supplying military equipment to Russia.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s consistent United Nations voting alignment with China, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and other US adversaries also attracted Washington\u2019s unfavourable attention.<\/p>\n

Since January 2025, the Trump administration and Congress have subjected South Africa to unprecedented scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Several Bills have been introduced in Congress to demand that the US government formally review its relationship with South Africa, although to date, none have passed.<\/p>\n

This legislation largely targets specific individuals and, more particularly, targets senior ANC politicians and not South Africa as a whole.<\/p>\n

This has been coupled with the US State Department placing South Africa on a human trafficking watch list, which means it must crack down on the activity or face sanctions from America.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration also declared South Africa\u2019s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, persona non grata after he made undiplomatic remarks about US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

South Africa has also been subjected to higher tariffs than any other African nation, a further sign of US displeasure with the country. The United States also boycotted the G20 Summit held in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Trouble on the horizon<\/b><\/p>\n

Leo Brent Bozell III<\/p>\n

Davhie said Bozell\u2019s appointment indicates that political friction is inevitable between South Africa and the United States in the future.<\/p>\n

Previously, Davhie warned that Bozell\u2019s nomination was evidence of a sustained hardline US stance towards South Africa.<\/p>\n

His swift nomination and confirmation process, compared to Trump\u2019s first-term ambassadorial pick, indicated elevated urgency and intent.<\/p>\n

South African stakeholders should expect direct, robust engagements from an ambassador with extensive media experience, and who combines ideological conviction with a clear Trump mandate.<\/p>\n

Should he present credentials promptly and remain in his post until January 2029 \u2013 the conclusion of the second Trump administration \u2013 he could achieve a significantly longer tenure than his recent predecessors.<\/p>\n

Given Bozell\u2019s right-wing pedigree, coupled with the conservative stance of the Trump administration, and the ANC-led coalition government\u2019s left-leaning orientation, political friction is inevitable.<\/p>\n

This friction will be exaggerated if Pretoria continues moral posturing on global issues while struggling to tackle domestic challenges.<\/p>\n

Pretoria should not expect an easy ride with Bozell in the ambassadorial post. Successful cooperation will depend on a shift away from political disagreements to leaning towards trade, investment, and people-to-people ties, Davhie said.<\/p>\n

One thing that is not likely, according to Davhie, is a ban on US companies investing in South African assets, which is a far-fetched and unlikely scenario, with it being given a low alert level by the CRA.<\/p>\n

However, the threat of sanctions on South African leaders and a formal review of relations between the countries is much more real.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the US-SA Bilateral Relations Review Act, which is currently a Bill, we have seen two forms of it. One is at the House level and one at the Senate level,\u201d Davhie explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that there are two of them shows that there is an appetite for this Bill to pass and that this is very much on the agenda in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Review Act only targets specific individuals and, to be more particular, it targets ANC politicians and lists a few in those bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the real threat that the ANC is probably anticipating, and they are seeing it coming, especially because they are not moving the needle in terms of the demands that Trump has made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davhie said that Trump has been clear in his demands in relation to BEE, expropriation without compensation, and addressing farm murders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey seem not to have made any attempt to address these issues meaningfully. The only attempt they have made to secure a deal has been on the trade side, with little political action,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo give them their credit, the Department of Trade has been working for a trade deal and has regularly communicated with the US Trade Representative.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The confirmation of Leo Brent Bozell III as the new Ambassador of the United States to South Africa means that elevated tension between the two countries is inevitable. In this case, South Africa is likely to come off second best, with the country needing to shift the relationship away from political disagreements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-94982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Africa heading for deep trouble - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The confirmation of Leo Brent Bozell III as the new Ambassador of the United States to South Africa means that elevated ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Africa heading for deep trouble\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The confirmation of Leo Brent Bozell III as the new Ambassador of the United States to South Africa means that elevated ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-06T17:53:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-06T18:01:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/sm_1767709842.012287.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"South Africa heading for deep trouble\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-06T17:53:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-06T18:01:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\"},\"wordCount\":811,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/01\/sm_1767709842.012287.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-heading-for-deep-trouble\",\"name\":\"South Africa heading for deep trouble - 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