EDITORIAL: Can Mcebisi Jonas work miracles in the US?

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as his special envoy to the US in a bid to thaw the icy ties between Pretoria and Washington. Relations hit an all-time low with the expulsion of ambassador Ebrahim Rasool in March.

Jonas is an interesting choice. In recent years, he has been deeply critical of the ANC and its allies, the SACP and Cosatu. Delivering the Govan Mbeki memorial lecture in 2022, he pulled no punches in unpacking the crisis facing South Africa — and the ANC’s role in it.

He referred to the “dearth of intellectualism and thought leadership” in the ANC and the alliance, bemoaned the “moral decline” in the movement and described it as a “party preoccupied with positions” that failed to focus on the big issues facing society.

In his role as an envoy, it is unlikely that he will shift his stance and portray the party as something that it ceased to be decades ago. This should lend him a degree of credibility as he seeks to sell South Africa to the US.

More interesting is his role as chair of the MTN Group, a position Ramaphosa also once held. MTN’s partnership with Irancell — predating Jonas — remains under investigation in the US. This is aside from the derogatory remarks about US President Donald Trump made by Jonas in 2020.

Ramaphosa has told parliament he is keen to resolve the impasse with South Africa’s second-largest trading partner, with exports to the US valued at more than $8bn.

Does Jonas’s role at MTN and his critical stance on the ANC have something to do with a possible deal? Time will tell.