By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The United States (US) Ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, clarified his remarks regarding the former President Thabo Mbeki.
In a wide-ranging interview with Business Day, Bozell named Mbeki as the “best person” and a master negotiator to break the current diplomatic and economic impasse between Washington and Pretoria.
Bozell’s remarks come during a period of strained US-South Africa relations marked by disagreements over non-aligned geopolitics, land policy, and newly implemented US visa restrictions.
While Bozell praised Mbeki as an eloquent veteran statesman who understands international diplomacy, he clarified that Mbeki’s involvement shouldn’t just be about repeating existing governmental channels.
His suggestion has sparked intense domestic debate, with some viewing it as a slight against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s current foreign policy management.
However, in a social media post this evening Bozell said, “Setting the record straight. I have sat down with President Mbeki on several occasions and I have the greatest respect for him, but I did not call for him to intervene or mediate our bilateral relationship.”
Fullview has previously reported that Donald Trump has five demands from South Africa. They’re as follows:
- To protect rural communities from violence, referring to the globally publicised farm attacks.
- To condemn rhetoric that incites hatred and glorifies violence, referring to the infamous “kill the boer” chant. The US wants the government to publicly condemn this.
- The appropriation policies include fair and clear compensation standards, referring to the government’s move to normalise “nil” compensation in new expropriation laws.
- The mandatory surrender of ownership or control over corporate decision-making as a cost of doing business, citing South Africa’s strict BEE policies.
- South Africa’s association with Iran and enemies of the United States, and become a non-aligned state as it purports to be.
“These are achievable, practical and beneficial to both Americans and South Africans,” Bozell said.
The ambassador said, the five “demands” generally address the business environment in South Africa and issues of safety and social cohesion.
The latest developments come as Ramaphosa attended the BRICS Summit in India, underscoring the competing diplomatic and economic interests at the centre of Pretoria’s increasingly delicate relationship with Washington. Ramaphosa is yet to respond to the demands.