{"id":4339,"date":"2025-04-14T11:23:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T11:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2025-04-15T11:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:32:23","slug":"updated-mcebisi-jonas-named-special-envoy-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/updated-mcebisi-jonas-named-special-envoy-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATED: Mcebisi Jonas named special envoy to US"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Cyril Ramaphosa has named former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas<\/a> as his special envoy to Washington amid a diplomatic freeze with the Trump administration and fast evolving international trade war.<\/p>\n

Jonas\u2019s brief will be to advance trade ties with the United States, the presidency said as it announced the appointment on Monday, less than a week after President Donald Trump announced a 30% tariff on South African imports, then suspended the decision for 90 days.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this capacity, [as special envoy] Mr Jonas is entrusted with the responsibility to advance South Africa’s diplomatic, trade and bilateral priorities,\u201d Ramaphosa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US government officials and private-sector leaders to promote our nation\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonas, in accepting the position, said there were \u201cno quick fixes\u201d for the fraught state of play between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa reiterated the importance he placed on South Africa\u2019s relationship with Washington, which remains at a historic low after Trump in February cut all donor aid to the country.<\/p>\n

The US expelled South Africa\u2019s ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, in mid-March, and has sought to discredit the country\u2019s year-long presidency of the G20.<\/p>\n

Trump signalled last week that he would not attend the G20 summit in November<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a post on his Truth Social<\/a> platform on Friday, he asked rhetorically how he could be expected to attend the G20 in South Africa \u201cwhen land confiscation and genocide is the primary topic of conversation?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are taking the land of white farmers, and then killing them and their families. The media refuses to report on this. The United States has held back all contributions to South Africa. Is this where we want to be for the G20? I don\u2019t think so!\u201d<\/p>\n

It was his latest attack on South Africa\u2019s policy of redress for historic land ownership patterns.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Ramaphosa said he hoped to rebuild the bilateral relationship in the context of respect for each other\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

 \u201cFor decades, South Africa and the United States of America have maintained a historical and strategic relationship. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the interest of our country, our region and the rest of our continent, I remain committed to rebuilding and maintaining this relationship for more decades on the basis of mutual respect, recognition of each other\u2019s sovereignty and benefit for our respective peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonas thanked Ramaphosa for trusting him with what he termed an \u201cimportant but challenging\u201d role.<\/p>\n

I will do my best to promote a healthy working relationship between South Africa and the United States,\u201d he said in a short statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am fully cognisant of the difficulties that lie ahead, considering recent global developments. However, I believe that areas of commonality and mutual interest could be embraced to reaffirm the long-standing ties between our two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called for patience as Pretoria tries to right its relationship with Washington. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no quick fixes in such a complex situation. I appeal that, in the national interest, South Africans exercise patience and allow us time and space to engage fully with different stakeholders in the United States and South Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramaphosa has yet to name a new ambassador to Washington<\/a>, and his office has said he will not do so in a rush.<\/p>\n

Jonas<\/a> served as deputy finance minister from 2014 to 2017, until he was fired by then president Jacob Zuma in the controversial midnight cabinet reshuffle in March that year.<\/p>\n

Jonas did not return to government after Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma in 2018. But he was named by the president as one of four presidential employees designated to facilitate investment in South Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a former deputy finance minister of South Africa, Mr Jonas brings extensive governmental experience to his new diplomatic role,\u201d the president said. <\/p>\n

This appointment underscores his distinguished career and continued commitment to advancing South Africa\u2019s national and economic interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jonas serves as non-executive chairman of the MTN Group, and will retain this role alongside his responsibilities as special, the presidency confirmed.<\/p>\n

The ANC welcomed his deployment to Washington.<\/p>\n

Mr Jonas\u2019 credentials reflect an unwavering commitment to South Africa\u2019s constitutional democracy, economic renewal, and global cooperation,\u201d the party said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ANC is confident that Mr Jonas will, in his new role, promote South Africa\u2019s priorities including trade, investment, technology exchange, and youth development, while ensuring that our voice remains prominent in global dialogue on peace, equity and sustainability.<\/p>\n

It added that his appointment came at a time when \u201cthe world requires cooperation over confrontation, dialogue over division\u201d.<\/p>\n

*This story has been updated with comment from Jonas and the ANC<\/strong><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Cyril Ramaphosa has named former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as his special envoy to Washington amid a diplomatic freeze with the Trump administration and fast evolving international trade<\/p>\n

Continue reading <\/use> <\/svg>UPDATED: Mcebisi Jonas named special envoy to US<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4339"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4340,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339\/revisions\/4340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/burn-the-priest.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}