President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the closing statement at the 46th Ordinary Summit of the SADC heads of state in Durban yesterday.
CapeTalk/702’s Africa Melane asked Dr Lisa Otto of UNISA’s Political Science Department what South Africa, as chair of the regional bloc for the next 12 months, can do to ensure maximum benefit for the country.
“I think the opportunities are difficult, set against this moment we find ourselves in… where we’re really not very popular at all as a result of xenophobia and the narrative that’s predominant around migration at the moment.”
The anti-illegal immigrant civic group March and March protested near the SADC leaders’ gathering yesterday with some placards reading, ‘Come Fetch Your People’.
Otto stressed: “I think it’s very difficult for us to advocate for free movement and the kind of measures that need to be taken in order to open up trade. And to facilitate that trade when we seem to be so kind of against having other people from Africa within our country.”
She believes there are lots of opportunities. “For South African banks and retailers, construction companies, logistics operators, and the like to deepen that integration. But I think there’s a lot of friction already in terms of businesses that are out there because of how South Africa is being perceived.”
She said the logistical challenges around the transport corridors, our ports, the regional power supply and beneficiation have to be considered. “And so there are a lot of challenges. And I think President Ramaphosa has already hinted at the need for moving away from rhetoric, actually, towards implementation. And then that’s the gap there at the moment.”
Otto said it’s a difficult one. “I think on the one hand it’s tied to the fact that we’re going to see this kind of dissatisfaction because we continue to struggle in South Africa with our triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
“And so obviously we need to be pursuing opportunities for economic development that can help us deal with meaningfully addressing those problems and meaningfully improving people’s lives.
“But at the same time, we do hold this kind of position on the continent where we have a leadership role, but that has often been perceived by other countries as being quite big brotherish or bullying.”
She said the way forward may be for South Africa to humble itself a bit.
“And find a pathway forward in terms of equal footing where we can actually gain the respect of other countries who want to be led by us rather than feeling that we are kind of forcing matters.
“But I think we need to move away from a narrative, this kind of damaging narrative that we have around migration towards one where we can see the benefits of it as well.”
Never miss a major story. Get breaking news and the latest developments from South Africa and beyond as they happen.
