President Cyril Ramaphosa’s naming of apartheid-era and post-1994 Cabinet minister Roelf Meyer as South Africa’s next ambassador-designate to the US has sparked intense debate and divided opinion across the political spectrum.
Meyer was this week named Ebrahim Rasool’s replacement more than a year after US president Donald Trump’s administration expelled the former Western Cape premier.
Rasool was expelled in March last year after making highly critical comments about Trump.
Ramaphosa has now moved to fill the vacancy but the Solidarity Movement, which includes AfriForum, said Meyer’s biggest challenge will be trust.
“There is, with good reason, a deep distrust of Meyer among many leaders and institutions, especially in the Afrikaner community, but also in conservative circles in the US, after his empty promises of the 1990s and his more recent statements about the American administration but also Afrikaner leaders and organisations,” said Jaco Kleynhans, the Solidarity Movement’s head of international liaison.
The Solidarity Movement was among the South African entities that visited Washington last year after Trump and key figures in his administration made statements indicating their focus on what they described as white genocide in the country despite evidence to the contrary.
“Meyer is well-known, especially among democrats in the US Congress, and his appointment confirms the Ramaphosa government’s close ties with a group of older democratic congressmen who were in direct contact with Meyer in the early 1990s,” Kleynhans explained.
He said, however, Meyer does not appeal to republicans and his appointment will be viewed as opportunistic by some in Trump’s party.
“Just because Meyer is an Afrikaner does not make him a friend of the current administration and his numerous media interviews of the last year in which he delivered criticism of the Trump administration are going to raise eyebrows in Washington,” predicted Kleynhans.
He added that the current US government has very clear priorities in all relations with South Africa including five issues that must be addressed in a bilateral agreement – expropriation, rural security, “Kill the Boer”, black economic empowerment and the refugee programme – as well as a rethinking of the trade relationship between the two countries.
“If the five points of contention can be resolved, the focus must be on trade and investment. Meyer will have to focus on that but will find it difficult to make progress to lower tariffs and get greater access to the American markets if he cannot involve all relevant parties in the process of finding solutions to the five points of contention,” Kleynhans added.
The Solidarity Movement stated that it supports the current processes and continuously provides input to resolve the dispute between the US and the South African government.
“If Roelf Meyer is serious about contributing to substantial outcomes, he must support these existing processes and also reach out to the Solidarity Movement for cooperation. Our door is always open,” said Kleynhans.
Former AfriForum deputy chief executive officer Dr. Ernst Roets, who is now executive director of think tank and pressure group Lex Libertas, described Meyer as “the single biggest turncoat in Afrikaner history (perhaps with the exception of Piet de Wet)”.
De Wet, a general during the Anglo-Boer War, fought against the British and later surrendered and fought against his own people.
Roets said after negotiating with the ANC, Meyer joined the party.
“He remains a proud member of the party that actively persecutes his own people,” he claimed.
Trade union federation Cosatu believes that because the US is South Africa’s second largest trading partner, having an ambassador on the ground is critical to managing the bilateral relationship and enhancing trade and investment opportunities.
The federation’s parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said the need to fill the key position was long overdue.
“Meyer’s record of managing complex negotiations between hostile partners is well known from helping to transition South Africa from the apartheid regime to our constitutional democracy, including helping to draft our internationally respected Constitution with the now President Ramaphosa, Valli Moosa, among others,” he said.
Parks continued: “Cosatu is dismayed by the juvenile temper tantrums by AfriForum, the FF Plus and other far right wing cranks who have shamelessly dabbled in race baiting and white nationalist politics for far too long.”
He stated that the federation was unconcerned by the historical disputes involving the FF Plus’s predecessor, the Conservative Party, and Meyer that occurred 40 years ago, particularly regarding their rejection of the apartheid government’s decision to negotiate with the then-banned liberation movement led by the ANC and the SACP-led tripartite alliance.
“It is 2026 and time for such apartheid relics to move on and accept that South Africa is a non-racial constitutional democracy. This includes the reality that they do not have a monopoly on or represent the majority of Afrikaners or white South Africans,” explained Parks, adding that those opposed to Meyer’s designation need to understand the constitutional reality that ambassadorial appointments are Ramaphosa’s prerogative and not subject to a veto by anyone.
Another organisation that has backed Meyer’s designation is Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), which singled out his contribution to dialogue, reconciliation and nation-building that helped lay the foundation for the country’s transition to the new democratic dispensation in 1994.
According to BLSA, Meyer has demonstrated the maturity and political acumen needed to enhance and strengthen ties between South Africa and the United States.
“Given the journey he has traversed and the personal investment he has made in building our democracy, Meyer is the right adult to place in the room to ensure we arrest any potential erosion in the relationship between Washington and Pretoria, considering the continued importance of the United States as a trading partner,” said BLSA chief executive Busisiwe Mavuso.
Meanwhile, the SACP opposes Meyer’s designation, saying among South Africans he is still viewed as a role player in the oppression, denial of human rights and human dignity.
“The appropriate action is the retraction of this decision and deployment of a suitable citizen to carry out this task. We call on all progressives to join with us in making this submission to the president,” the organisation said.
The SACP said Meyer is inherently incapable of representing the nation’s highest ideals as his entire orientation is antithetical to those ideals.
“Having been the last minister of defence of the apartheid government, Roelf Meyer commanded an army and security system that was responsible for the oppression of the people, which exacerbates his case as an unsuitable candidate to represent a free and democratic South Africa,” the party said.
The SACP said Meyer played a critical role in convening and organising an imperialist meeting in Gdańsk, Poland whose agenda and vision are responsible for the deepening of imperialism in Africa and for the conception of the Government of National Unity.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za
