Civil rights group Forum for South Africa (FOSA) has raised concerns that Mcebisi Jonas’ role as special envoy to the United States is beyond his capacity.
Jonas has been tasked with advancing South Africa’s diplomatic, trade, and bilateral priorities and leading negotiations with the US.
FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane argues that given the deteriorating relations between the two countries, President Cyril Ramaphosa should personally represent the country.
“Remember we stayed for too long when things were happening when there were false allegations about the government of South Africa and so forth. So, we feel that the President is supposed to go there himself unlike sending someone who’s not even a member of the Cabinet. So, this disqualifies him on that basis, not that he’s not a person of integrity but at the same time, we are saying he won’t be able to deal with these issues.”
Mashilompane has also pointed out that comments made by Jonas in 2020, in which he referred to US President Donald Trump as a racist homophobe, could further exacerbate the situation.
“There was a time where Mcebisi Jonas also spoke like (Ebrahim) Rasool and we also feel that that might emerge again and he might be interrogated and asked questions (as to) why he called Donald Trump a racist, homophobic and all those things he said. Because obviously, I don’t think America will leave that aside especially a person like Donald Trump (who) is very chaotic to criticism. So, we need somebody who is a bit clean in terms of approach to Donald Trump.”
PODCAST | Mcebisi Jonas’ appointment as special envoy sparks criticism:
Timing questioned
Political analyst Isaac Khambule has questioned the timing of South Africa’s decision to appoint a special envoy to the US.
Khambule says there are a lot of unresolved issues between the two countries.
“As it stands, it is still too early to predict. But there are still political issues that are at the back of these current issues such as that of SA, Israel and the US. Some of them as we know relate to SA taking Israel to the ICJ, of which is something that the US doesn’t really welcome. So, how is Jonas going to negotiate all these co-issues and at the same time be able to represent SA’s economic issues? But for now, it seems as if it’s the right step. But does SA have the ear of the US at the moment?”
“Challenging role”
Meanwhile, Jonas has since thanked Ramaphosa for entrusting him with what he called an important but challenging role.
He has vowed to do his best to promote a healthy working relationship between the two countries.
Jonas concedes that he’s fully cognisant of the difficulties that lie ahead but sees areas of commonality and mutual interests that could be embraced to reaffirm long-standing ties between South Africa and the US.
VIDEO | Jonas thanks Ramaphosa for entrusting him with ‘a challenging role’:
