‘Jonas deserves our support, prayers on his US mission’

The controversy surrounding the appointment of former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas as special envoy to the US refers.

While it is true that Jonas did, in his private capacity in 2020, ask how it came to be that “a racist, homophobic and narcissistic right-winger” took charge of the world’s largest economy and military power, the criticism directed at him for making that remark falls far short in reflecting the measure of the man.

For one thing, the description was hardly novel. It was the daily refrain of the entire international liberal media, including the New York Times. To assume that Jonas’ probing question equates to a lack of moral judgment or unsophisticated thinking on his part is to miss both his point and his intellectual stature. Indeed, Jonas’ capacity for nuanced strategic insight and his familiarity with national and international politics is there for all to see in his writings and in his place at Ramaphosa’s side on trade missions.

It is also true that in his new role Jonas will have to overcome the anti-Western, anti-democratic bias that has been amplified on the world stage by the former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, the banished ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, and Dirco’s current director-general Zane Dangor, who purposefully put himself in front of the TV cameras at the Hague where his department charged Israel with genocide. For anyone with half a brain that messaging was clear. But it does not mean that Jonas shares the ideological and religious views that are now apparently so dominant at Dirco.

And while it is also fair to say that questions remain about MTN’s relations with Iran Cell – Jonas was indeed MTN board chair – this does not necessarily translate into Jonas being someone who can be bought or led by the nose by Iran.

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In fact, quite the contrary. He has consistently demonstrated his mettle in standing up for noble principles and putting South Africa first – at great personal cost.

For instance, as deputy minister of finance, he fought valiantly to stop his then boss, President Jacob Zuma, from signing an insanely expensive nuclear deal with Russia. If concluded that debt would have collapsed South Africa into a failed state.

Jonas was also at the forefront of the fight against state capture. When Rajesh Gupta sought to bribe him with R600-million to facilitate Gupta business interests, Jonas told him to “f*** off”. Rather than bend to threats against his life and the pressure to become a Zuma-Gupta crony, Jonas instead became chief whistleblower against that menace. That stand cost him his cabinet post.

In sum, Mcebisi Jonas has fought the lion and the bear. He has already gone into battle for South Africa’s people, not once but repeatedly, and has shown us that he cannot and will not be played. Those who know him will attest to the fact that he is solutions-oriented, extremely politically savvy and a true patriot. South Africans have every reason to be confident about his appointment at this critical time, and to cheer him on and pray for his mission to be fruitful.