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Daily Maverick
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Presidency condemns DA's ‘latest effort to embarrass' special envoy Mcebisi Jonas
Ramaphosa's spokesperson said, 'The DA is trying cheaply but dangerously to exploit a critical engagement between South Africa and the United States to protest President Ramaphosa's removal of Mr Andrew Whitfield.' The Presidency has hit back at the Democratic Alliance (DA) for what it calls 'disinformation' and 'harassment' targeting President Ramaphosa's special envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas. 'The Democratic Alliance's latest effort to embarrass President Ramaphosa's Special Envoy to North America, Mr Jonas Mcebisi, involves claims — in the DA's framing — that the United States has rejected Mr Jonas's 'credentials' and that Mr Jonas is therefore unable to perform his role as special envoy. 'The DA seeks to add sensationalism to its claim by suggesting President Ramaphosa and Mr Jonas face a crisis in view of the United States' pending implementation of trade tariffs announced several days ago by President Donald Trump. 'The facts around this matter include the reality that special envoys do not present diplomatic credentials to host countries in the way designated heads of mission or other diplomats are,' said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya in a statement on Tuesday, 15 July. Magwenya's statement comes after the DA claimed Ramaphosa had for months been concealing the fact that his special envoy to the United States 'is not welcome in Washington'. Emma Powell, the DA spokesperson on international relations and cooperation, claimed in a statement on Tuesday that the US had denied Jonas a diplomatic visa in May. She said the Presidency 'continued to mislead the public by insisting that Jonas remained the president's special envoy' to the US. Powell said these facts were coming to light with just two weeks to go before devastating 30% trade tariffs on SA exports to the US were to take effect, a result which Jonas was supposed to help prevent. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has rejected her claim and accused her of working against SA's interests. 'The US government has formally rejected Jonas' credentials and has informed the Presidency that he would not be recognised as South Africa's official interlocutor. The Ramaphosa administration was explicitly advised on multiple occasions that Jonas was not acceptable to Washington and was urged to appoint an alternative envoy,' said Powell. 'This week, when confronted with the DA's announcement that it would submit a Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) request detailing Jonas' official engagements over the past 90 days, instead of coming clean with the truth … Magwenya lashed out on social media, accusing the DA of 'encroaching' on the President's powers,' she added. Powell called on the Presidency to explain why it continued to back Jonas as SA's envoy when his 'credentials have been officially rejected by the host government'. Powell said that following the expulsion of Ebrahim Rasool as SA's ambassador to the US, Ramaphosa was more concerned about 'saving face than safeguarding livelihoods'. She said the DA would ask Parliament to request an urgent briefing from the Presidency on Jonas' appointment. Daily Maverick approached Jonas and his spokesperson, Ranjeni Munusamy, for comment, but Munusamy referred us to the Presidency. 'Right-wing nexus' In a statement on Monday, Powell said that more than 90 days after his appointment as Ramaphosa's special envoy to the US, Jonas was 'nowhere to be seen'. She noted that Jonas' appointment came on the back of the expulsion of Rasool, 'and was billed as a critical intervention to stave off the impending collapse of vital export industries under punitive liberation day tariffs. 'With just over two weeks to go before the 30% tariffs come into effect on 1 August, industries that support hundreds of thousands of jobs — from citrus to automotives — remain on a knife's edge,' said Powell. Magwenya said that Jonas' role did not 'supersede the leading role' of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and Dirco in SA's 'difficult but constructive' trade negotiations with the US. 'Mr Jonas has, however, played an important role in working with the DTIC to develop the trade proposals in which South Africa is currently engaging the United States in good faith and with the expectation of mutually beneficial terms. 'Similarly, he has been assisting Dirco in government's efforts to reset diplomatic relations and all areas of cooperation between South Africa and the United States,' said Magwenya. He said that while these processes were underway, Ramaphosa had not required Jonas to visit the US on urgent business. 'The Presidency is therefore concerned about the Democratic Alliance's persistent campaign against South Africa's national interest and its posture of trying to embarrass and belittle our country, and in this specific circumstance, Mr Jonas. This campaign has its origins in a Democratic Alliance visit to the United States earlier this year, to advance an ideological agenda rather than our national interest,' he said. 'The DA has positioned itself as part of a right-wing nexus that seeks to use a foreign state to effect changes to democratically developed national policies in our own country. 'The DA is trying cheaply but dangerously to exploit a critical engagement between South Africa and the United States to protest President Ramaphosa's removal of Mr Andrew Whitfield as deputy minister of trade, industry and competition.' Last week, Trump sent Ramaphosa a letter confirming that the US would impose a 30% tariff on all imports of South African goods from 1 August — 'separate from all sectoral tariffs'. He originally announced the 'reciprocal' tariffs on SA and almost all other countries in April and said the new tariffs would kick in after 90 days, on 9 July. This was supposed to give countries time to lower their tariffs on US imports. But although the DTIC said it had presented a draft Framework Deal to the US on 20 May, and requested an extension of the 90-day pause for further negotiation, Trump confirmed the 30% tariffs last week. He again said that if SA eliminated its trade barriers, the US would 'consider' adjusting the 30% tariffs. DM
IOL News
6 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
DA claims President Ramaphosa misled the public on Mcebisi Jonas's US visa rejection
Mcebisi Jonas, MTN chairman, was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as the country's Special Envoy to the US. Image: Supplied The Democratic Alliance (DA) has alleged that President Cyril Ramaphosa's special envoy to the United States, Mcebisi Jonas, was rejected by Washington in May 2025. Jonas was appointed by Ramaphosa to the role of special envoy after the expulsion of former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool from Washington earlier this year, following Rasool's incendiary comments labelling US President Donald Trump a leader of a global white supremacist movement. The DA claims that Jonas's application for a diplomatic visa was denied, with the US formally communicating to the Presidency that Jonas was not recognised as the country's official representative. Despite these revelations, Ramaphosa has remained publicly silent, leading the DA to accuse the administration of misleading the public regarding Jonas's position and suitability. "Despite being fully aware that Jonas had been denied a diplomatic visa by the US and would not be formally received, President Ramaphosa doubled down on national TV, declaring Mcebisi Jonas is still my North American envoy and has done good work. "...When confronted with the DA's announcement that it would submit a Promotion of Access to Information (PAIA) request detailing Jonas' official engagements over the past 90 days, instead of coming clean with the truth, Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya lashed out on social media, accusing the DA of 'encroaching' on the President's powers. "The Presidency owes South Africans a full and honest explanation as to how it can justify having doubled down on the appointment of a rapporteur whose credentials have been officially rejected by the host government,'' said the DA. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Jonas was notably absent during the high-profile meeting between Ramaphosa and Trump in May. In response, the presidency released a statement that aimed to clarify his absence, affirming that both Jonas's visa and credentials were indeed valid. However, speculation regarding Jonas's absence arose after reports suggested that the Trump administration raised concerns over past remarks he made, in which he reportedly labelled Trump 'a racist, a homophobe, and a narcissistic right-winger.' The DA added that with no recognised representative currently championing South African interests in the US, the economy stands to lose billions of rands when the tariffs come into effect. "The DA will be writing to the Speaker of Parliament to request an urgent parliamentary briefing from the Presidency on the failed Jonas appointment. The DA will take all necessary steps to demand the immediate appointment of a credible envoy, capable of repairing the immense damage that has now been done," said the party. IOL News Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel
