Ramaphosa sends Ayanda Dlodlo to Paris as SA’s new ambassador to France
· Citizen
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed former state security minister Ayanda Dlodlo as South Africa’s new ambassador to France.
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Dlodlo’s appointment comes days before Ramaphosa is due to visit France for a three-day official visit, which is expected to include talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Appointment
The 63-year-old Dlodlo recently served as the Executive Director for Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa at the World Bank Group.
Her appointment in France comes after the position was left vacant following the death of the late ambassador Nathi Mthethwa in the French capital in September 2025.
Dlodlo has built a highly successful political career serving first as communications minister, then as home affairs minister under former president Jacob Zuma.
July 2021 riots
After serving as the secretary-general of the MK Military Veterans’ Association and backing Zuma’s successful 2007 bid for the ANC leadership, she was appointed as his presidential parliamentary counsellor in 2009.
Her political legacy is heavily clouded by significant institutional failures and serious allegations of ethical misconduct.
Dlodlo’s career faced its deepest crisis during the July 2021 riots, where her tenure as State Security Minister was widely condemned for a catastrophic intelligence breakdown that failed to prevent widespread violence and looting.
The former minister has repeatedly defended herself, insisting that she carried out her duties prior to and amid the unrest, which left more than 300 people dead.
Ethics committee
Her reputation was severely damaged in 2019 when parliament’s ethics committee found her guilty of breaching the code of conduct.
The committee revealed that she had hidden a luxury 2015 trip to Dubai, which was arranged by the Gupta family and paid for by a businessman tied to the State Capture corruption scandals.
Appointment slammed
Meanwhile, the DA has slammed Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Dlodlo saying her deployment is the latest example of “Ramaphosa placing the interests of ANC cadres above those of South Africa and its foreign policy”.
“Ayanda Dlodlo stands accused of gagging an inquiry into former president Jacob Zuma’s private intelligence armed unit when she was Minister of State Security, as revealed in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in 2021, and faced a Public Protector investigation after having scored millions in a bloated R1.7 billion broadband deal as Minister of Public Service and Administration in 2019,” said DA spokesperson on international relations Ryan Smith.
“The fact that such a key diplomatic and trading partner, such as France, should have Ayanda Dlodlo as its representative of the South African state is a blight on our foreign service, a stinging insult to the people of South Africa, and another blow to our country’s crumbling international reputation.”
French investment
The French Republic is currently South Africa’s largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with R20.7 billion pledged by French businesses for South Africa this year alone.
“Such a crucial international partner cannot be managed by an individual as severely compromised as Ayanda Dlodlo – an ANC cadre who lacks the requisite integrity and skill to be trusted with a state budget, let alone any form of economic diplomacy and international trade,” said Smith.
Dlodlo grew up in exile in Swaziland and joined uMkhonto weSizwe at 17. She underwent military training in Angola and military intelligence training in Russia, the former Soviet Union.