The US government says it has already refused to speak to Mcebisi Jonas, South Africa's special envoy to the US, in May this year and has repeatedly asked for another envoy to negotiate with.
This is one of a list of explosive allegations that an adviser to Pres. Donald Trump made to Emma Powell, the DA's spokesperson on international relations, this past week.
Powell shared the message with Rapport after the presidency accused her of spreading misinformation. She requested that the Trump official remain anonymous to protect relationships.
According to the messages, the US government had already rejected a diplomatic visa for Jonas in May and his credentials were also recently rejected.
The Trump official claims that the South African government has been communicated for months that the US wants another envoy. This message was apparently passed on to five different ANC government officials.
The Trump official says he is concerned that South Africa is days away from 30% import tariffs, but that there is still no one with whom they can negotiate about it.
Powell raised the alarm earlier this week about Jonas’ absence in the US. She said Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa has known for months that Jonas is not welcome in Washington DC.
The presidency dismissed Powell’s allegations as sensationalism and misinformation.
“The DA has positioned itself as part of a right-wing group that is trying to use a foreign state to bring about changes to democratically developed national policies in our own country,” Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, said on Tuesday evening.
According to Magwenya, special envoys like Jonas are also not required to present diplomatic credentials to host countries such as ambassadors and other diplomats. He says Jonas played a leading role in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s negotiations with the US government.
However, Magwenya did not leave him out about the rejected diplomatic visa.
The ANC also accused Powell of racism and spreading misinformation.
Rapport revealed last week that Jonas was struggling to gain access to the US government.
Magwenya then refused to reveal any information about Jonas' work in the US and only said that the president was "satisfied" with his work.
However, the Trump official's messages paint a dark picture of South Africa, which has almost no diplomatic representation within the borders of its second largest trading partner.
A person who liaises in Washington for South African businesses also says that the US government has been telling its clients for months that they "have no one to talk to" from the South African government side.
Ramaphosa’s appointment of Jonas as his special envoy to the US on 14 April blew up in his face within hours when the SABC revealed that Jonas had referred to Trump as a racist, homophobe and narcissist in 2020.
This came after Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa’s former ambassador to the US, was declared persona non grata by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March for accusing Trump of white supremacy.
On 19 May, Ramaphosa announced that Jonas would be part of his delegation to the White House to meet with Trump and his government officials.
However, at the meeting on 21 May, Jonas was conspicuous by his absence.
Shortly before the visit to the White House, Magwenya told Clement Manyathela, who was reporting from Washington for radio station 702, about Jonas’ absence that the White House had expressed its “displeasure” with his presence.
Two days later, on May 23, Magwenya issued a statement contradicting himself, saying there was no ulterior motive for Jonas' absence.
"Jonas assisted with the preparations for the meeting (between Ramaphosa and Trump), which included overseas consultations," Magwenya said in a statement at the time.
"His absence in Washington, at his own request, has no bearing on the President's official programme."
However, on June 10, Jonas's job description quietly changed when Ramaphosa began referring to him as his envoy to "North America" in a TV interview with the SABC.
This despite the fact that his appointment was heavily publicised as his role would be to "lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US officials and private sector leaders to advance our nation's interests."
Meanwhile, the South African
