Ramaphosa’s new man in Washington under pressure

South Africa’s new envoy to the US glossed over remarks he made in the past about President Donald Trump and said relations between Pretoria and Washington are vital to the national interest.

“It’s crucial,” former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas told 702 radio on Tuesday. “The US relationship with South Africa is fundamentally important for the national agenda for South Africa.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa named Jonas to the post on Monday in an effort to mend fraying ties with Washington.

Trump froze aid to the country over objections to its genocide case against Israel and allegations of land seizure at the expense of White farmers. South Africa hasn’t confiscated any land since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Washington also expelled Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool last month over critical comments he made about the US president.

The new special envoy has also taken aim at Trump in the past. In a lecture he delivered in the aftermath of the US elections in 2020, Jonas referred to the US leader as a racist, a homophobe and a “narcissistic right-winger.”

Jonas played down those remarks on Tuesday, arguing that he was outside of government at the time and speaking as a private person.

“I’m sure if you google any politician, they’ll have said something nasty about one politician or another,” he said in a nod to the members of Trump’s own Republican party who have attacked him in the past.

But he acknowledged that repairing the relationship will take time.

“I’m not underplaying the challenge. The situation is complex,” Jonas said, pointing to strains between the two nations that predated Trump’s return to power in January.

These include US displeasure after South Africa refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, closer ties with Iran and the case against Israel in the International Criminal Court.

“We have more than 600 companies from the US operating in South Africa,” he said. “The basis for a long-term relationship is there.”

Jonas, who turns 65 this year, currently serves as chairman of telecommunications company MTN Group Ltd. — a position he will retain alongside his responsibilities as envoy.