Former South African ambassador to Portugal, Dr Kingsley Makhubela, has thrown his weight behind the recent appointment of Mcebisi Jonas as a special envoy in Washington, as South Africa acts on amending the tumultuous United States-South Africa relationship.
IOL reported on Monday that President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Jonas as the Special Envoy to the US, serving as the official representative of the President and the Government of South Africa.
The former deputy minister of finance, Jonas has also previously served as one of four Presidential Investment Envoys that Ramaphosa appointed in 2018 to facilitate investment into South Africa.
Ramaphosa said in this capacity, Jonas is entrusted with the responsibility to advance South Africa's diplomatic, trade and bilateral priorities.
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He will lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with U.S. government officials and private-sector leaders to promote our nation’s interests.
Commenting on the key appointment, Makhubela told SABC News that policy difference between Pretoria and Washington is not a new issue, but the diplomatic post to the US needed someone of Jonas’s caliber, who can navigate the terrain but without showing disrespect to the hosts.
“There are differences of policies between the United States and South Africa, they have been there even before (former South Africa’s ambassador to the US, Ebrahim) Rasool, they have been there for many years, they have been there during (former president Nelson) Mandela’s time. When president Mandela first visited the United States, there was pressure for him to distance himself from (Muammar) Gaddafi, (Fidel) Castro and (Yasser) Arafat. These are known differences in terms of policies.
“The problem that we need to manage, and we deal with, is the level of respect that is shown to the head of State, which is the problem that I think Rasool had. I know Mcebisi won't have that kind of challenges, in terms of interfacing with the US government.
“He will respectfully differ with them on policy issues, and will be able to articulate South Africa's policy stance and there will be an agreement. That is why part of foreign policy is co-existence. I do not think he is going there to discuss the differences. He will discuss the opportunities that exist between the two countries. How do we take this relationship, on shared values, forward, not on differences.”
Makhubela said he has previously worked with Jonas and has
“I have a great deal of respect for him. I have dealt with him when he was MEC and he was deputy minister of finance. He is a highly respected person, very credible person, I think he fits the requirement,” said Makhubela.
As a former deputy finance minister, Jonas brings extensive governmental experience to his new diplomatic role. Concurrently, he holds the position of independent non-executive chairman of the MTN Group, a role he will maintain alongside his responsibilities as the Presidential Special Envoy.
On Monday, IOL reported that a United States foreign policy expert has warned that Jonas could face the same treatment that Rasool was subjected to, as a result of his previous comments on US President Donald Trump.
Michael Walsh, a senior fellow at a US think-tank the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the choice of Jonas as South Africa’s Envoy to the US carried serious risks for Ramaphosa, the African National Congress, and the South African economy.
Speaking to Business Report, Walsh said there were two major issues that were currently driving the breakdown in the bilateral relationship between South Africa and the United States, one being State sanctioned racism and the other being foreign policy misalignment.
“The appointment of Mr Mcebisi Jonas could be a double-edged sword for US-South Africa relations. On the one hand, Mr. Jonas is a well-known proponent of democratic institutions and critic of state capture and foreign influence,” Walsh said.
“On the other hand, Mr. Jonas referred to President Donald Trump as "a racial, homophobe" and a "narcissistic, right-winger" who "took charge of the world's greatest economic and military powerhouse."
“Given these pointed remarks, one should expect critics to point to his selection as further evidence that the Ramaphosa Administration is committed to pursuing confrontation over reconciliation with the Trump Administration.”
IOL