By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@USEmbassySA.
The United States Embassy in South Africa on Friday confirmed that Leo Brent Bozell III has been sworn in as the ambassador-designate to South Africa.
The Embassy shared an image of Bozell being sworn in by Republican US Senator Ted Cruz in Washington.
In a post on X, the embassy said, that it looked forward to working under Ambassador Bozell’s leadership to advance US priorities and promote a safer, stronger, and more prosperous US through continued engagement with South Africa
He will formally assume his duties following the presentation of his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa but the exact timeline for that remains unclear.
Until that process is completed, Bozell remains ambassador-designate and cannot perform official acts or formally represent the United States government in South Africa.
Bozell’s swearing-in comes at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions between Washington and Pretoria.
While relations improved after the end of apartheid, certain points of friction persisted – South Africa’s close ties with Cuba, its criticism of Nato interventions, and its championing of Palestinian rights have long irritated Washington.
More recently, Pretoria’s so-called neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war and its hosting of joint naval exercises with Russia and China further aggravated the US.
But it seems nothing has riled Washington quite like South Africa’s decision to take Israel to the ICJ.
South Africa’s case at the ICJ accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza, an allegation that strikes at the heart of Washington’s most sacrosanct alliance.
Not long thereafter, these terse words morphed into a more tangible response when Washington took steps that many in South Africa have seen as punitive, including a renewed threat to the country’s Agoa status, which provides it duty-free access to US markets.
Given South Africa is one of the largest beneficiaries of Agoa, with over 21% of its exports to the US enjoying preferential trade terms in 2022, this poses a significant economic risk. US legislators, especially Republican hardliners, have called for the country to be removed from Agoa, citing Pretoria’s foreign policy at odds with US national security interests as a justification.