LETTER: SA needs seasoned diplomat in US, not Jonas

The US-SA relationship has deteriorated to its most precarious point in decades. What began as policy disagreements has escalated into a full diplomatic crisis. We now have the freezing of aid, an ambassador expulsion, executive orders specifically targeting SA and potential sanctions.

Each attempt by our government to explain its position or send envoys backfires spectacularly. Rather than alleviating tensions, these efforts amplify them.

Despite his capabilities, Mcebisi Jonas carries too much baggage to serve effectively as special envoy. His public characterisation of US President Donald Trump as “racist” and “homophobic” following the 2020 US election makes his appointment a diplomatic nonstarter.

The Jonas situation reads eerily similar to the Ebrahim Rasool incident. SA keeps sending ANC activists with strong anti-American views rather than seasoned diplomats. This pattern repeats at the worst possible moment — when the US is floating sanctions against individual ANC leaders.

Compounding this liability is Jonas’ association with the MTN lawsuit before US courts. This connection reinforces the hardening narrative in Washington that SA enables or aligns with entities considered adversarial to American interests.

The first rule of diplomacy is understanding your counterpart’s standpoint. The second is acting in ways that achieve the national interest. The third is that the less powerful party must practise wise statecraft. None of these fundamental principles appears to guide our current approach.

Having observed international diplomacy and US politics from both sides of the Atlantic, being in continuous dialogue with friends, former colleagues and analysts in Washington DC — where I lived and maintain work relationships — I can attest that the current US-SA partnership is in unprecedented danger.

The view from Washington is one of mounting frustration with what is perceived as SA’s deliberate antagonism. My contacts report complete bewilderment at sending envoys with documented anti-American or anti-Trump statements precisely when diplomatic finesse is most needed. The calculations made in Pretoria appear fundamentally disconnected from the political realities of Washington, where personal relationships and symbolic gestures carry tremendous weight in the current administration.

The Jonas appointment, following so soon after Rasool’s expulsion, is being interpreted not as diplomatic naiveté but as purposeful provocation. This perception, whether accurate or not, is hardening into policy positions that will undoubtedly have devastating consequences for our economy, regional standing and international credibility.

When American officials discuss SA today they increasingly use language reserved for adversary states.

President Cyril Ramaphosa must give this situation his pressing personal attention and most strategic thinking. What is required is not explanation but negotiation; not justification but pragmatic engagement. The best approach would set aside the ANC — the source of so much distrust, warranted or not. The presidency must apply its mind with the national interest at hand, not what is best for the ANC or perceived to have worked before.

Sending the wrong messenger with the wrong approach will only deepen the crisis. The time for direct presidential engagement with his American counterpart is now — before irreparable damage is done.

Claude de Baissac
Eunomix CEO and World Bank consulting economist

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