By Mthobeli Jiwulane
Africa has become a terrain for proxy wars – fought on behalf of forces from outside the continent, but Africa should take responsibility to end the conflicts and live in peace, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Ronald Lamola says.
The Minister was addressing experts – including scholars, researchers, diplomats, non-governmental organisation and international dignitaries held in Sandton, South Africa and organised by the Johannesburg-based Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection in conjunction with the Indian and Chinese embassies. He says that the Russia-Ukraine war, what he called “the genocide against Palestinians”, trade wars that result in greater challenges in the global economy, and wars raging in Africa all point to the ‘moment of deep global crisis’. But Africa was becoming the theatre for proxy battles in these conflicts.
With South Africa preparing to take over the chair of the G20 next year, the country begins to assert its stand on world affairs. It challenged Israel at the Internation Court of Justice over what it regarded genocide in Gaza and refused to condemn Russia over its alleged invasion of Ukraine, citing South Africa’s non-aligned foreign policy, but this was interpreted by the West as siding with Moscow.
On Friday Lamola attempted to reiterated where the country stands with regards to geopolitics and rivalry among the big powers. As a continental big power economically, South Africa plays an influential role in the direction the continent follow on multilateral issues such as the call for the reform of the multilateral bodies like the United Nations and its Security Council and the Brentwood institutions to give Africa a voice in them.
“The toll of geopolitical rivalry on people’s suffering is serious. This is most evident in Sudan, where the conflict has created a humanitarian catastrophe unlike any other. While the media’s glare is on the Russia-Ukraine war, the genocide in Palestine, the conflict in Sudan, the war in the eastern DRC, and conflicts in the Sahel, are as good as footnotes.
We must take up our responsibility as Africans to help end these wars. We should work with external and international friends who act bona fide to end the war; admittedly, this is not easy,” Lamola says.
The presence of unconventional participants on both sides, including mercenaries, foreign volunteers, special forces, and paramilitary squads, has made Africa a place for proxy wars. It is easier to fund wars than to fund development. War’s geopolitical character also involves economic, financial, and cyber warfare, as well as artificial intelligence, which has become ‘weaponised’ and used on a massive scale.
The politician, who was appointed this year to replace the outspoken Dr Naledi Pandor, attributed these developments to world which he says ‘is in grievous interregnum, and transitioning to the new is that dangerous’.
“We are experiencing a proverbial ‘crisis moment’ in world affairs, which could easily become a ‘moment of calamity’. In this dangerous geopolitical moment, the champions of the liberal international order generally refuse to accept any notions of decline and would resist any attempt to emerge an alternative, least of all one from the Global South. But that we have to go through this interregnum is beyond doubt,” he argues.
While post-Covid Africahoped that the continent would become a greater priority and looked forward to the world community’s search for new modalities to address post-pandemic recovery, they realised it was never to be as optimism was quickly replaced by pessimism and outright alarm.
Interdependence is now marked by competition and tension. Rising military tensions, disruptive trade and commercial relations, growing protectionism and right-wing populism, grave environmental degradation, the abuse of hard and soft forms of cyber power, and increasing levels of bigotry, racism, and tribalism are replacing the gaps and vacuums left in the wake of these rivalries.
“The Middle East crisis is becoming a proverbial shift in the global balance of power in front of our very eyes. What started off as plausible evidence of ‘genocide against the people of Palestine’ is now transforming into a real regional war that will have long-lasting ramifications for global peace and the economy and Africa in particular,” he says
The Minister says those who have criticised South Africa for its decisions to take Israel to the International Court of Justice and not joined in actions in the ICC were now coming forward one year later to “agree with us on the warnings we have signalled”.
“This shows that it was only that the wrong people from the global south raised the alarm. Had it been some from the global north, they may have well been a different reaction,” Lamola argues.
According to Lamola a fundamental feature of contemporary global order is the erosion of multilateralism, notably the UN, and the multiplying weaknesses of its institutionalised mechanisms. Established norms of global governance are also being corroded and eroded. “Multilateral cooperation and adherence to international law will move us away from the Hobbesian-like world and its zero-sum politics. Supporting and championing the Pact of the Future is about the survival of multilateralism. It is in our interest to do so if we are to pursue a just global order,” he says.
However he identified opportunities for Africa reminding delegates at the conference thatdespite the challenges, there is hope for positive change. The impact of geo-political rivalries and wars extends beyond sanctions and disruptions to supply chains, but African countries have the opportunity to reclaim their agency in world affairs.
By insisting on genuine partnerships and aligning agreements with regional groupings and continental programs, Africa can define its engagement with major global powers. He say the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a significant opportunity to increase intra-African trade, which is currently at 17%, and foster economic growth. Africa has great potential to shape its own future and create a more prosperous and interconnected continent.
AfCFTA was established as vehicle to promote intra-Africa trade and is envisaged to have a potential to boost their economies and minimise dependence on big economies. While Africa is endowed with various mineral resources such as gold, platinum, diamond, among others, most of the minerals are exported with beneficiation spinoffs accruing to the economies of the countries that receive the minerals in the West. However, several countries in West Africa and the Sahel such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, following a series of coups in the last few years, opted to stop their minerals from going to the rich nations but to remain to benefit their own economies and citizens. This appears to be working as Burkina Faso under Captain Ibrahim Traore is envisage to become Africa’s number one economy in a few years’ time as the military junta prioritise the country’s infrastructural development and agriculture to boost its economy.
Lamola is of the view that the looming spectre of geopolitical rivalries and wars casts a dark shadow over the people of Africa and the South and, indeed, the entire world. The relentless march of inequality, violence, division, and disillusionment is creating an apocalyptic and tragic reality for the people of Africa, plunging them into a dystopian and hopeless existence.
“As Africans, it is our noble duty to wholeheartedly recommit ourselves to fostering unwavering unity within our continent. Our voices must harmonise into one resounding call for progress and prosperity.
We must wholeheartedly embrace the concept of “African solutions for African problems” as the guiding principle of our collective journey towards a brighter future. Simultaneously, we must approach the global community with a spirit of genuine partnership and unwavering accountability, fostering a world where mutual respect and cooperation reign supreme,” Lamola says.
The stance put forward by Lamola indicates South Africa’s insistence on its non-aligned foreign policy, in which it prefers multilateralism rather than support unilateralism. South Africa always tries to pull Africa along in whatever position is takes on international affairs. But this is bound to continue to pit Pretoria against the West especially the United States which is trying to influence countries especially Africa, away from the Russian and Chinese influence.