Ramaphosa expected to accept Trump’s new US ambassador

Deputy Director-General (DDG), Clayson Monyela, Acting Chief of State Protocol, receiving copies of Letters of Credence from His Excellency L Brent Bozell III, United States Ambassador to South Africa. PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to accept the credentials of Brent Bozell, a right-wing media critic and fervent defender of Israel appointed to be US’s ambassador to South Africa. A US state department official told AFP Bozell “looks forward to taking up his post and representing America First foreign policy”.

An official accreditation ceremony with Ramaphosa would take place in April. The development comes as the two countries have been at odds over a series of international and domestic policies, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and the US in March expelled ambassador Ebrahim Rasool for being critical of Trump’s leadership. As bilateral relations floundered, Washington in August imposed 30-percent tariffs on South African exports to the US, raising fears of major jobs losses in the local agriculture, automobile and textile sectors. US officials said South Africa would not be invited to the US hosting of the group of leading economies this year.