What Ramaphosa is likely to discuss with Donald Trump next week

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa does not anticipate any mistreatment or embarrassment during his upcoming meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump next week. 

Addressing a post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told the media that Ramaphosa would not let South Africa be bullied during discussions in Washington regarding trade.

Ntshavheni said Ramaphosa expected a "level of decorum" during his visit.

"As I've said previously, it doesn’t mean there won’t be differences and there's no one person or one country which is entitled to differ more than the other. Where they differ, we will also differ. South Africa has, over the years, demonstrated that we are a sovereign state,” said Ntshavheni.

In February, Trump embarrassed Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washington, with Trump branding the Ukrainian president a "dictator" who refuses to hold elections.

Ramaphosa's visit to the US comes at a time when diplomatic relations between the two countries were severely strained after the Trump administration expelled former South African ambassador Ebrahim Rasool in March, declaring him persona non grata for criticizing Trump.

Ramaphosa has since appointed Mcebisi Jonas as special envoy to the US, but the appointment of a new ambassador is still pending. The appointment of an ambassador is believed to be one of the topics that the two leaders will discuss, according to sources within the ANC.

International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola recently announced that Ramaphosa would soon appoint a new US ambassador, saying that Mcebisi Jonas has been designated as a special envoy to establish a foundation for peace.

Some of the names that have been tipped to take over from Rasool were Ibrahim Patel, Roelf Meyer and Martinus Van Schalkwyk.

Political analyst Sandile Swana said Trump should not dictate the type of ambassador Ramaphosa should appoint.

“It will not help for Trump to prescribe who should be the ambassador because you need an ambassador who is going to be sure that he is representing the interests of SA and more especially the wishes of the overwhelming black majority in South Africa. 

“No matter who we send. Even if we had to send Tony Leon. Tony Leon cannot get there and misrepresent anything that may cause parliament to rebel against the state president.

“So the person who goes there must be the person who certainly negotiates on behalf of the majority of South Africans and is not prone to unnecessary compromises. So the topic of the ambassador is guided by the laws of SA and appointed,” Swana said.

Cape Times