South Africa has dispatched Mcebisi Jonas to Washington in a last-ditch attempt to stabilise a rapidly deteriorating trade relationship with the US. While Jonas heads west to preserve access to critical markets, the more pressing question remains: Have we tested what’s simmering in our own pot?
This is not simply a diplomatic mission — it’s a national reckoning. As Jonas speaks to power in Washington, his message resonates with two audiences: American business and political leaders questioning South Africa’s reliability, and South Africans reflecting on whether we still deserve the legitimacy Jonas is expected to defend abroad.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and tariffs may dominate headlines, but they are merely strands in a much broader and increasingly fragile economic partnership. The US is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding R300bn annually. This relationship encompasses sectors such as automotive manufacturing, agriculture, finance, pharmaceuticals, energy and strategic minerals vital to the global energy transition.
Yet that relationship is fraying. South Africa’s continued eligibility under Agoa is under increasing scrutiny in the US Congress, with certain development and health assistance programmes already facing partial suspension. American corporations are quietly reassessing their exposure to South Africa.
From Pretoria’s posture on Russia and Gaza to its commitments within Brics and controversial submissions at the International Court of Justice, South Africa is increasingly viewed in Washington not as a dependable partner but an erratic one.
Jonas, the former deputy finance minister best known for refusing a R600m Gupta bribe, joins the diplomatic arena not as a ceremonial envoy but as a crisis mediator. His mission is to halt the bleeding or, at the very least, buy South Africa time.
This is no routine appointment. Even under the Biden administration, South Africa’s trade and investment standing had dimmed. A more critical generation of bipartisan lawmakers has grown disillusioned with Pretoria’s ambivalence. Now, MAGA-aligned voices — emboldened by Trump’s political resurgence — treat trade as a tool of coercion, viewing South Africa as a liability rather than a partner.
In this environment, conventional diplomacy won’t suffice. Jonas must activate informal networks — business leaders, global influencers and intermediaries who still hold currency in Republican and centrist foreign policy circles. His credibility may open doors, but behind those doors, the mood will be unforgiving.
Even if he succeeds, we must ask a harder question: What, exactly, is he defending?
In Uitenhage, where Jonas was born, there’s a saying: Ukufa kusembizeni — death is in the pot. This isiXhosa proverb warns that danger does not always come from outside; sometimes it brews quietly within the very vessel meant to nourish us. South Africa risks poisoning its own legitimacy from within.
This moment demands more than diplomacy; it calls for deep introspection and a commitment to clean what has simmered for too long
While we speak with thunderous clarity at the ICJ, calling out alleged genocide in Gaza, at home we preside over collapsing municipalities, a national energy crisis and a health system buckling under mismanagement. We decry impunity abroad while tolerating it here — from Marikana to Life Esidimeni, from Phala Phala to institutionalised cadre deployment.
Our values are not the problem — but their selective application is.. The heart of our crisis is that our foreign policy ambitions now exceed our domestic moral authority.
Jonas brings three critical assets to the mission: a positive political image, strategic depth, and international credibility.
However, he cannot carry this mission alone. His job is to negotiate a lifeline, but ours, back home, is to prove we still deserve one. This moment demands more than diplomacy; it calls for deep introspection and a commitment to clean what has simmered for too long.
By fostering a culture of transparency and inclusivity, South Africa can begin to heal and regain its standing on the global stage.
Only by addressing the toxicity within our pot can we hope to present a credible and united front abroad.
Our foreign policy fits within that pot. I wonder if Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet colleagues will be prepared to hear the message. Jonas’s feedback to Pretoria on the necessary changes will be invaluable.
To what extent is Pretoria prepared to drop the ICJ case? This is the first question Jonas will need to contend with as he touches down in the US. South Africa’s stance against Israel may just be the dealbreaker for Trump. Jonas has all the skills, but his prospects of success lie in being able to advise Pretoria, not Washington, on better strategic choices, as death from within poses the greatest threat.
• Mkokeli is lead partner at public affairs consultancy Mkokeli Advisory
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