by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AFTER expelling South Africa’s Ambassador to the United States, the Donald Trump government has gone a step further by appointing a pro-Israel figure as Ambassador to Pretoria.
That is how relations between these two countries are fracturing.
Things have been tense between them since Trump returned to the White House in January but have escalated, with the issue of Ambassadors between the two nations the common denominator lately.
In the middle of March, US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, declared South African ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, as persona non grata after Rasool accused Trump and his allies, including the South African-born billionaire Elon Musk of promoting white supremacy, in comments to a South African think tank.
This is linked to Trump’s criticism of a South African land expropriation law that he claimed unfairly targeted minority Afrikaners.
Rasool is also known for his anti-Israel advocacy, in a country that is seen as an ally of the South African government.
His posting for his second stint as ambassador was meanwhile a clumsy piece of diplomatic business by the government of Cyril Ramaphosa. He only presented his credentials to the outgoing president, Joe Biden on January 13, a week before the swearing-in of Trump.
Also still on Israel and diplomatic postings, Trump has announced pro-Israel individual, Leo Brent Bozell III, as ambassador to South Africa.
This ushers in a period of possible fallouts, with South Africa having brought Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“Brent brings fearless tenacity, extraordinary experience, and vast knowledge to a Nation that desperately needs it,” said Trump.
The move has sent shockwaves in South Africa, where he is to take over from Ruben Brigety.
The opposition Economic for Freedom Fighters (EFF) has described Bozell’s posting as “a calculated act of aggression, a blatant declaration of war against the sovereignty, dignity, and aspirations of the South African people.”
“This comes on the heels of Trump’s recent actions: freezing financial aid to South Africa, expelling our ambassador, and issuing baseless accusations of anti-white policies, and the flagrant lie of a so called ‘white genocide’, all of which expose a deliberate strategy to target and destabilise our nation.,” it stated.
It remains to be seen if the Department of International Relations and Cooperation will consider Bozell’s credentials.
South Africa is yet to name a new ambassador to the US, which is the second-largest trading partner to South Africa.
“Therefore, we need to have top-class representation in the US. It is something we are working on,” Ramaphosa told the media this week.
Another diplomatic storm is brewing between the two countries amid plans in South Africa to rename a street in the Sandton
The City of Johannesburg has approved a motion to rename Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive, in honour of the Palestinian former militant and activist (now 80).
She is most known for being the first women to hijack a plane, the Tel Aviv-bound TWA Flight 840, in 1969
However, the US Consulate in South Africa is located on that road.
Indications are that the consulate will be closed if the renaming goes through.
Ramaphosa has urged the Johannesburg authorities to halt the renaming.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the African National Congress’ (ANC’s) biggest partner in the coalition government, welcomed the intervention of the Presidency.
Emma Louise Powell, DA spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation, said, “The Presidency is correct in indicating that this issue is harmful to SA-US relations and is an unnecessary provocation at this time.”
She added, “The USA is one of our largest trade and investment partners, and the renaming issue does not help our country’s efforts to stabilise relations.”
Relations between the two countries are at their lowest since the demise of apartheid in South Africa in the early 1990s.
– CAJ News