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By Marni Rose McFall
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An ex-diplomat has said President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House could be good for Africa.
Dr. Kingsley Makhubela, a former senior South African diplomat and the former South African Chief of Protocol, has stated that Trump's directness and focus on negotiation could benefit African nations.
"Strategic mineral resources and the competition that is emerging is going to compel Trump and those people who put pressure on him to say, listen, you can't not take certain initiatives that would better position American companies to continue to access strategic mineral resources," Makhubela told Newsweek in a phone call.
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Despite previous remarks that Trump has made that have been viewed as derogatory, such as previously referring to African nations as "s***hole countries." "He's never had a very hostile foreign policy towards Africa," Makhubela said. "Except the manner in which he described Africa in a very unpalatable way."
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign via email for comment.
A key issue for South Africa is its continued participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free access to U.S. markets.
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In April, a bill was introduced in Congress to review Washington's relationship with South Africa. The bill alleges that Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital, is strengthening ties with alleged "malign actors," including Russia, China and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
This could lead to Pretoria being cut off from AGOA. The bill extends to other states, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Makhubela said that Trump has never spoken publicly about ending South Africa's participation in AGOA.
"AGOA, I don't think it's an issue for Trump," Makhubela said.
"There are two issues that the Americans have been happy about," he said. "The neutrality that South Africa professes to take on the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the position that South Africa has taken with respect to Israel and Palestinian conflict."
"Trump has made it quite clear that as soon as he goes to the White House, he wants the two wars to stop immediately. And so that is going to take two issues that have been very contentious in terms of moving this relationship between South Africa and the United States forward," Makhubela told Newsweek.
Some concerns have been raised over Trump's cabinet picks and their potential implications for Africa.
Representative Elise Stefanik, Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, signed a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken earlier this year in which she expressed "disgust" at South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
South Africa v. Israel is an ongoing case brought before the ICJ in December 2023. It alleges that Israel has committed genocide in the war in Gaza, which Israel has denied.
Update 11/19/24, 9:46 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Dr. Kingsley Makhubela.
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