New ambassador to the United States instructed to tell Donald Trump the truth about South Africa

South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States, Roelf Meyer, has been instructed to communicate the realities of the South African situation to American authorities. 

This is to address various misconceptions which have resulted in relations between the two countries deteriorating significantly over the past 18 months.

Meyer revealed this after he presented his credentials to US authorities upon arrival in America on 21 May. 

The former apartheid-era minister has been sent by President Ramaphosa to stabilise and begin to improve the bilateral relationship between Washington and Pretoria. 

Meyer was officially appointed on 14 April 2026 to fill the role of South African ambassador to the United States, which had stood empty since March 2025. 

The previous ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, was expelled by the Trump administration after comments from Rasool about the US President surfaced online. 

78-year-old Meyer has been sent, in part, to dispel claims made by the Trump administration about the persecution of South Africa’s Afrikaner minority. 

Trump has created a refugee programme for select individuals, with the cap being raised in recent months. 

Meyer began his career as a parliamentarian in 1979 under PW Botha, the defiant face of white rule at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle. 

He later served as minister of defence and then constitutional affairs under President FW de Klerk.

He gained prominence negotiating for the National Party during talks to end apartheid, becoming its chief negotiator in 1993, the year before South Africa’s first democratic elections.

Sitting opposite him during much of those negotiations was Cyril Ramaphosa, who was the chief negotiator for the ANC at the time. 

Meyer said that he was warmly received by US authorities when presenting his credentials in Washington on 21 May.

This is set to kick off a flood of engagements with US politicians and business leaders, as Meyer looks to seal a trade deal between the two countries.

What Meyer has been told to do 

Meyer’s task is not only to seal a trade deal with the ambassador, but also to fundamentally reset US-South Africa relations. 

“Of course, we have one purpose, and that is to improve the relationship,” Meyer told the SABC. 

“For South Africa, there is one thing that is important, and that is to make sure that we remove the hurdles to ensure the relationship improves.” 

Meyer said the main aim of improving relations is to boost South Africa’s trade with the United States, with the ultimate aim of creating jobs. 

It is unclear how Meyer aims to do this without meeting American demands around Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), support for Iran and Russia, and the government’s anti-Israel stance. 

However, Meyer revealed that he has been directed by Ramaphosa to explain to the Americans the reality of the situation in South Africa and clear up any misunderstanding.

“President Ramaphosa explained to me what he would like me to do in terms of improving the current situation towards a relationship that can produce results,” Meyer said. 

“Without going into the details, it is about bringing across the realities of the South African situation and sharing with the authorities in the United States what the truth is.” 

“We all know what the concerns of the Americans are. Some might be valid in our eyes, and some are probably not so valid in our eyes.” 

Lawmakers in the United States on both sides of the aisle have become increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement from South Africa on key issues. 

This includes an unwillingness to effectively reform BEE and shift the country’s stance on foreign affairs, which America believes is opposed to its interests. 

The rising frustration can be seen in a flurry of bills in front of Congress that aim to impose sanctions on South Africa’s political leaders. 

The most recent comes from Congressman Jonathan Jackson, who introduced a bill to impose sanctions against people recruiting individuals in Africa to fight for Russia in Ukraine. 

This bill specifically named former South African President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, as a target.

The bill from Jackson comes on the back of South Africa being placed on a human trafficking watchlist by the United States at the end of 2025. 

Being on this watchlist means that South Africa has to demonstrate significant effort to crack down on human trafficking or face US sanctions. 

Various other Acts of Congress are working their way through the US legislative system, which threaten to push relations between Washington and Pretoria to new lows, alongside sanctions on political leaders.