HE DEFENDED the decision to appoint Mr. Roelf Meyer, as the new ambassador to the United States, Mr. Cyri Ramaphosa, after criticism.
Ramaphosa was criticized for appointing Meyer, who was the MEC during apartheid. He was leading discussions in the National Party, which was aimed at ending apartheid in the country. Ramaphosa said that Meyer has always been loyal and loves his country.
“Every ambassador representing this country in other countries, must follow the order and be able to highlight the goals of our country. If they fail to do this, they will be sent back to this country,” he said.
He said this while speaking to the media yesterday in Johannesburg, as there was a conference on the economy.
Ramaphosa said he did not check which party Meyer supports before appointing him to this position. He praised Meyer’s role, saying that he can deal with difficult situations because of his experience in peace talks.
“He has experience in peace negotiations, which he has done around the world. He has started talking to different departments of the United States as well as its officials.”
Meyer takes the position left by Mr. Ebrahim Rasool, who was expelled from the United States for criticizing the President there, Mr. Donald Trump. This country is in conflict with Trump, who suspects that there is violence against white farmers who are deprived of their land. Although he has been told many times that this is nonsense, but Trump does not listen to the machine.
Ramaphosa said he has no doubt that Meyer will do his job successfully.
“We hope that he will be accepted by Trump. We also recently accepted the American ambassador, Mr. Brent Bozell.”
Speaking about the economy, he said that the water sector in the country is driving the investment in the country.
“The old infrastructure, the mismanagement of the municipalities hinders rapid changes in the country. The lack of water supply to the people, makes the investment slow.”
He said that a lot of work and investment is happening in the municipalities and he said that they need to wake up from the eggs. He also revealed that many people are employed by private entrepreneurs in this country, so they need to be developed to increase the number of people working in this country.
Ramaphosa said that the people of this country are known for spending money.
“Wherever I go, especially in the townships, you pass by and you see there is some business. This is something that already existed in the past. Whether the business prospers or not, that’s another matter. The important thing is that the people of this country are known to be creative, they don’t want to fail. That’s what we need to encourage,” he said.