A vitriolic diplomatic row has emerged between the South African Presidency and the Democratic Alliance (DA) over the status of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Special Envoy to North America, Mcebisi Jonas, amid looming US trade tariffs.
The Presidency has accused the DA of spreading disinformation and joining a “right wing nexus” while the DA claims Jonas has been denied a US diplomatic visa, undermining South Africa’s trade negotiations.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Presidency said special envoys did not present diplomatic credentials to host countries in the same way as designated heads of mission or other diplomats. It highlighted Jonas’s role in supporting the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) in trade and diplomatic efforts with the US.
The statement noted that Jonas had “played an important role in working with the DTIC to develop the trade proposals” and assisted Dirco in resetting bilateral relations. It added that Ramaphosa’s telephonic engagement with US President Donald Trump and his May 2025 Washington visit had reduced the need for Jonas to travel to the US urgently.
“The Presidency is therefore concerned about the Democratic Alliance’s persistent campaign against South Africa’s national interest and its posture of trying to embarrass and belittle our country and, in this specific circumstance, Mr Jonas. This campaign has its origins in a Democratic Alliance visit to the United States earlier this year, to advance an ideological agenda rather than our national interest,” the Presidency said.
“The DA has positioned itself as part of a right-wing nexus that seeks to use a foreign state to effect changes to democratically developed national policies in our own country.”
It accused the party of “trying cheaply but dangerously to exploit a critical engagement between South Africa and the United States to protest” the removal of Andrew Whitfield as deputy DTIC minister.
“The DA’s pronouncements and insults against countries and international organisations – such as the Republic of Cuba or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – offends South Africa’s international relations and posture,” the Presidency said.
“If the DA were to succeed in undermining South Africa’s relations with various nations or institutions, the party will harm the viability of businesses and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of South Africans who work in sectors that depend on the expansion of our trade relations with the world.”
This comes as DA MP and its Dirco spokesperson, Emma Louise Powell, alleged that the US had rejected Jonas.
“The United States of America denied Mcebisi Jonas a diplomatic visa in May this year. The US government has formally rejected Jonas’s credentials and has informed the Presidency that he would not be recognised as South Africa’s official interlocutor,” said Powell.
She claimed Ramaphosa was aware of this but had misled the public, citing his June 2025 SABC interview where he said, “Mcebisi Jonas is still my North American envoy and has done good work.” She accused the Presidency of prioritising “saving face” over protecting South African businesses facing potential losses from the impending 30% US tariffs.
Powell announced the DA’s intent to submit a Promotion of Access to Information request to scrutinise Jonas’s engagements and called for an urgent parliamentary briefing on the matter.
Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, responded on social media, accusing the DA of “encroaching” on the President’s powers.
