Former apartheid minister Roelf Meyer’s appointment as South Africa's ambassador to the US has sparked debate over his suitability for the role.
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Soon after formally accepting the new and controversial US Ambassador to South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has anointed his old fishing buddy as his top envoy in Washington.
At face value, it looks like a quid pro quo. We have the conservative “Trump man” in Pretoria in Leo Brent Bozell III, and Ramaphosa is sending his old chommie, Roelf Meyer, to Washington. But, fellow South Africans, please look closely before you celebrate.
No matter how much he tries to market his ambassador choice, the truth is that Ramaphosa didn’t quite choose his man but compromised heavily to appease Trump. In other words, he has been bullied.
Indeed, Meyer and Ramaphosa go a long way, and trust each other. But why him, among such a large pool of talent? Is it because of Trump’s soft spot for the Afrikaners?
This is not to say that an Afrikaner shouldn’t have been picked. And it’s no suggestion that Meyer is not an honourable man. He did try to reform his political brand during South Africa’s transition from its dark past to democracy. Those old enough will remember him trying to create an alternative to the ANC and the IFP. But his partnership with General Bantu Holomisa didn’t last. However, Meyer – like all former apartheid government leaders still alive – will always be viewed with suspicion. Did he atone enough for his role during apartheid? Did he tell us all he knows about the “third force” killings?
Trump will likely approve of Meyer. He will have his resident reference on Afrikaner persecution that he wants everyone to believe is rampant in black-led South Africa. But I’m not sure how he’ll feel about Meyer having left the defunct National Party and joined black parties. The same parties that support “land confiscation”, and the black empowerment that’s causing so much headache for Elon Musk?
However, the choice of Meyer makes practical business sense. At least the taxpayers’ money used to fly him to Washington won’t go to waste as he will likely settle for a while. And all the 5,000-strong so-called Amerikaners who have chosen self-exile in the US will have someone who speak their language to run to when in trouble.
Fellow South Africans, let’s just be grateful that at least – and at long last – our man of extra-long processes has finally made the appointment.