South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Roelf Meyer, who served within the final authorities of the apartheid period, as his new ambassador to the US.
The nation has not had a high envoy within the US since Ebrahim Rasool was expelled final 12 months after he accused President Donald Trump of attempting to “undertaking white victimhood as a canine whistle”.
This worsened already strained relations between the nations, which took a downward spiral after Trump’s return to workplace final 12 months.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed Meyer’s appointment saying it might be “speedy”.
Meyer performed a key function as one of many chief mediators, alongside Ramaphosa, through the talks to finish the racist system of white-minority rule often known as apartheid in South Africa within the Nineties.
He was the chief consultant of the Nationwide Social gathering, which launched apartheid, whereas Ramaphosa represented the African Nationwide Congress (ANC) led by Nelson Mandela. Throughout that interval, the 2 loved a fishing journey collectively and went on to kind a lifelong friendship.
Esther Ndu
Times Nigeria