By BBC
South Africa has appointed a special envoy to the United States (US) in an effort to ease tensions between the two countries, which have worsened since Donald Trump’s return as president. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Mcebisi Jonas’s selection, adding that he would be “entrusted with [advancing] South Africa’s diplomatic, trade and bilateral priorities”.
Jonas, a former deputy finance minister, made headlines when he made corruption allegations against a wealthy family linked to former president Jacob Zuma. Last month, the US expelled South Africa’s ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, over remarks he had made about the Trump administration.
Ramaphosa’s office said Jonas would be “serving as the official representative” of the president and South Africa. “He will lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US government officials and private-sector leaders to promote our nation’s interests,” the office said.
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Jonas has previously served as one of South Africa’s four investment envoys, appointed in 2018 to help encourage foreign companies to put their money into the country. He first came into the spotlight during his tenure as deputy finance minister when he accused the wealthy Gupta family, which had close ties to Zuma, of offering him a bribe of 600 million rand ($31.7 million) to become finance minister.
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This was one of the most shocking of a series of allegations of corruption against Zuma and the Guptas. Jonas, who declined the offer and would later become vocal about his resistance, said this offer came just before his then boss, Nhlanhla Nene, was sacked by Zuma.
Had he accepted, Jonas said at the time that he would have been expected to remove key Treasury officials from their posts and use his position to advance the Gupta family’s “business ambitions”—an example of what has become known in South Africa as “state capture”. He later said he had been told he would be killed if he ever spoke about the meeting.
The Gupta family has denied the allegations, while Zuma has always denied all accusations of corruption made against him. Nene was eventually replaced by then little-known David van Rooyen, leading to a run on the currency and national protests, before a new finance minister was appointed just days later.
Jonas currently serves as an independent non-executive chairman of the multinational telecommunications company, the MTN Group, which Ramaphosa said he will continue with alongside his appointment as special envoy.
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Earlier this year, Ramaphosa announced that he would be dispatching envoys to several countries, including the US, to explain the country’s position on key issues, some of which have drawn the Trump administration’s ire.—BBC
