By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa’s billionaire Johan Rupert could potentially accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa for a pivotal meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Its understood the move will bolster positive interactions, indicating an ongoing trend where business leaders influence political discussions on international platforms.
Notably, Ramaphosa is the first African president to be hosted by Trump, marking an important diplomatic milestone.
The background to this meeting is deeply intertwined with recent criticisms Trump has made regarding land reform in South Africa, which were perceived as inflammatory and harmful to South Africa’s international standing.
Sources familiar with the situation indicate that Rupert’s consistent dialogue with Trump included an earlier call that facilitated communication between the two leaders post-Trump’s election.
While it remains uncertain if Rupert will officially join the delegation, the significance of his influence during this diplomatic mission cannot be understated.
Fullview meanwhile learnt that SA special envoy to Washington Mcebisi Jonas won’t be part of the meeting, as he is currently in London.
This could be on the basis of his public characterisation of Trump as “racist” and “homophobic” following the 2020 US election.
During his delivery of the Eleventh Ahmed Kathrada Foundation lecture in November 2020, Jonas publicly stated that Trump was a “racist, homophobic, narcissistic right-winger”.
Jonas’ comments echo Ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool’s injudicious statements in March about Trump leading a global “white supremacist” movement, which led to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declaring Rasool persona non grata and giving him 72 hours to leave the US.
Jonas said the comments he had made in 2020 were said in his private capacity and not as part of government.He said he would also not be the first politician to have said something nasty about another politician.
“At the time, I was outside of government. At the time, I was speaking as an activist. I’m sure if you Google any politician, they’ve said something nasty about one politician or the other. But the reality of the matter is that the challenge that we all face and the task at hand, it is to work on the relations between the two countries. I’m committed to doing that [and] I’ve got the backing of government,” Jonas said.
He also acknowledged that repairing the relationship with the US would take time and that the situation was “complex”.
US-South African diplomatic relations are at a post-Apartheid low, which could spell trouble for the already ailing domestic economy.