It is nearly five months since Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, was expelled from that country and branded a “race-baiting politician who hates America” by US secretary of state Marco Rubio.
In that time, President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a special envoy to Washington who reportedly has not been able to visit the country even once or hold any consequential meetings with US officials. This columnist and many others told Ramaphosa this would happen, but does he listen to anyone? No.
Of even greater concern is that the envoy, MTN chair and former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, has not been able to meet South Africa’s many supporters in the US. That means no-one is making a case for the government of South Africa in the most important capital in the world. At the same time, a procession of mainly right-wing propagandists from South Africa is welcomed in that country’s corridors of power to lobby against their own democratically elected government.
When Ramaphosa met US President Donald Trump at the White House in May, South Africa’s envoy — who should have been at his side in such an important venture — was nowhere to be seen. Instead, you had a couple of incoherent golfers — one of whom didn’t even know when the new South Africa was born — and a billionaire gamely defending South Africa’s interests.
When wild allegations and outright lies about South Africa are made (for example, that there is a “genocide” in the country), there is no-one in the US to put out fires and make the case for South Africa. Poor Ronald Lamola, the foreign minister, must do it from Pretoria.
Imagine if someone asked Oprah Winfrey, a great friend of this country, why she continues to run a brilliant school in a South Africa that was allegedly perpetrating a “genocide”. Believe me, she would be happy to answer that question and fight that battle if South Africa had a high-ranking ambassador in Washington to help her push back against such vile propaganda.
No matter how strained the relationship, the president needs to appoint someone to Washington — quickly
Yet Ramaphosa has not appointed an ambassador; he seems to be enjoying the fact that South Africa is being pummelled in the diplomatic stakes in the US.
What is he waiting for? Does Ramaphosa want to appoint a committee to recommend someone to him?
The US is too important to South Africa for it to dawdle while its beautiful embassy in Washington stands empty. Economically, the US is still a key destination for South African exports such as vehicles, agricultural products and critical minerals. It is a major source of foreign direct investment in South Africa. These investors are jittery now as threats and harsh words are exchanged between the countries.
About 600 US businesses are operating in South Africa, employing about 148,000 South Africans. There are hundreds of South African farmers whose produce is exported to the US. The US imported $14.7bn worth of goods from South Africa in 2024, up 4.9% ($679.4m) from 2023, according to the US trade representative. South Africa bought goods worth $5.8bn from the US at the same time.
South Africa’s government — and its people — may not like the US. South Africans may find its president boorish, arrogant, ignorant and, as Rasool alleged, a white supremacist. But a country that has as much talent as South Africa cannot afford to go for so long without an ambassador in the most affluent, politically important and powerful capital city in the world. To do so is irresponsible. It is a dereliction of duty on the part of the president.
Just this past week US legislators voted to advance a bill that proposes totally reviewing the US relationship with South Africa. It contemplates imposing sanctions on South African government officials. As many have pointed out, it’s early days for this bill, but the point is this: who is visiting key policymakers in Washington right now, inviting them to lunches and meetings, and making the case for South Africa?
No-one. South Africa is a sitting duck. No matter how strained the relationship, the president needs to appoint someone to Washington — quickly — to go to bat for the country. It’s in South Africa’s best interests.
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