What the US ambassador-designate plans to push for in Pretoria

BRENT Bozell III, the US ambassador-designate to South Africa, has previously warned that Washington is deeply concerned about what he describes as Pretoria's drift toward the People's Republic of China and other global rivals.

- JONISAYI MAROMO [e-mail]

Bozell told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in October that, if confirmed, he would make it a priority to challenge South Africa's geopolitical posture.

On December 19, IOL reported that the US Senate had formally confirmed Bozell as the US ambassador-designate to South Africa. This move transitions his controversial "priority list" from the campaign of a nominee to the official mandate of a confirmed envoy.

The 53-43 party-line vote on December 18 came at what diplomats describe as the most dangerous crossroads in bilateral relations since 1994. While Bozell now holds the title of ambassador-designate, he will enter the mission in South Africa, currently engulfed in a diplomatic firestorm following the raid at a US "refugee" facility in Johannesburg and the deportation of Kenyan staff from the centre - incidents Washington has labelled as "unacceptable harassment".

Washington and Pretoria remain at odds over a range of geopolitical issues - from South Africa's growing alignment with China and Russia to its stance on the Gaza conflict and its legal case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

While Bozell will likely arrive in Pretoria in the New Year, diplomatic analysts say the delay in President Donald Trump appointing an ambassador to South Africa reflects the strained atmosphere between the two governments, with both sides increasingly framing each other's actions through the lens of global strategic rivalry.

Bozell said he intended to "communicate our objections to South Africa's geostrategic drift from nonalignment toward our competitors, including Russia, China and Iran".