Ronald Lamola has firmly anchored aggressive economic diplomacy with African countries as the cornerstone of SA’s foreign policy even as he reasserted the sacrosanct nature of SA’s nonaligned stance in geopolitics.
In his maiden policy statement on Thursday, Lamola, who assumed the mantle of foreign policy from Naledi Pandor as the new international relations minister, said the continent held the solution to the country’s problems, ranging from an economy that is hardly growing to the world’s highest unemployment rate as well as inequality and endemic poverty.
“SA proudly places Africa at the centre of its foreign policy,” Lamola said in his department’s budget speech.
“To stimulate economic growth, we must intensify our efforts to help SA companies and state-owned enterprises engage in meaningful opportunities in Africa. We are looking to strengthen our partnerships in Africa to address business challenges and create a favourable environment for conducting business.”
His comments are in line with the agenda of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has staked his reputation on reviving the economy and putting millions of unemployed South Africans into jobs. Lamola’s economic diplomacy pitch rests on the forecasts in the African Development Bank’s report on Africa’s economic outlook that the continent would continue to be the world’s second-fastest growing region.
As the continent’s most industrialised economy, SA stands to gain remarkably from the African Continent Free Trade Area, a continent-wide agreement that provides a gateway to more than 1.3-billion consumers in a trade block worth R23-trillion.
Unsubstantiated allegations
Lamola reaffirmed the sacrosanct nature of the country’s nonalignment stance in geopolitics, in what could be interpreted as standing up against major powers who may view the stance as cover for siding with countries facing international scrutiny.
SA’s nonaligned stance has come under sharp scrutiny in recent years after the US ambassador Reuben Brigety made unsubstantiated allegations that a Russian cargo ship loaded SA military supplies for use in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while docked at Simon’s Town in 2022.
The stance also drew international attention after SA launched legal action against Israel, alleging that the Middle Eastern country committed genocide. The action drew sharp criticism from US politicians.
Earlier this year, US legislators introduced a bilateral bill calling for the US to review its relations with SA, citing the country’s “history of siding with malign actors”.
Lamola said the “evolving international world order” necessitated strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement.
“SA’s policy of active nonalignment is not reactive but an affirmative agenda. It is not about being neutral or abstaining from world affairs but putting forward a unifying agenda through dialogue to achieve peace for developing countries that do not wish to take sides in great power rivalry,” he said.
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