A “new dawn” in foreign policy must prioritise South Africa’s national interests rather than be based on the narrow interests of the African National Congress (ANC) as governing party, self-enrichment of prominent leaders, or on inflexible ideology.
South Africa’s national interests are chiefly to raise economic growth levels, foster racial inclusivity and strengthening the country’s democracy.
Foreign policy must therefore be aimed at ensuring raising economic growth rates, promoting racial inclusivity and strengthening democracy at home. Such a focus would create the desperately needed jobs at home.
Essentially this would mean a pragmatic new foreign policy approach.
SA’s foreign policy cannot be overly ideological either, meaning ditching the notion of partnering with allies for purely ideological reasons.
South Africa will have to stop having a naïve foreign policy, which argues that partners such as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China), will altruistically build the South African economy.
Policymakers will have to ditch the argument that South Africa cannot be seen as a “Big Brother” in Africa. South Africa should actually act as a “Big Brother” in Africa when its national interests are in peril.
This would also mean that South Africa will have to more aggressively defend its national interests with trading partners in BRICS, Africa and industrial and developing countries across the world.
A “new dawn” foreign policy must still be based on the broad pillars of Africa, the US, European Union, BRICS and the Commonwealth. However, these partnerships must now more overtly promote South Africa’s national interests. But South Africa must also more aggressively seek out new dynamic markets in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
And although South Africa is part of BRICS, it must prioritise African markets, and balance such a focus, with a balanced trade across BRICS, emerging markets and industrial countries.
Raising South African growth levels to deal with poverty, unemployment and inequality, depends heavily on the country growing its exports to African markets. Africa is South Africa’s premium market, which must be secured at all costs for South African manufacturers, producers and farmers.
This means that the South African government must support the country’s companies against the highly subsided competition from industrial, emerging powers and BRICS country companies. This must be unequivocally the first order of South Africa’s Africa policy.
The South African government must help local companies export to Africa, or set up shop on the continent. It must support companies through accessible finance, supportive regulations and open markets on their behalf. In cases where South African companies are being persecuted in African countries, the South African government will have to intervene quickly on their behalf.
A new approach must include the South African government supporting small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) to manufacture products for export into Africa. Government support for SMMEs that export to foreign markets has been among the most successful job creators in countries such as Germany, France and South Korea.
South Africa’s massively flawed Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy must change to emphasise black-owned SMMEs and farmers to manufacture and produce for export to African markets. Alongside this, local black-owned SMMEs must be supported to produce into the supply chains of large established white-owned companies that are exporting to or setting up in African markets.
South Africa will also have to change its Africa policy of non-interference in the domestic affairs of African countries, to one which actively intervenes when South Africa’s national interests are imperiled. Poor governance in African countries is the central reason for violence, economic collapse and people fleeing to neighbouring countries, South Africa or to Western countries.
People flee from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to South Africa to seek safety, medical help and jobs because their countries are governed by self-serving leaders, a favoured ethnic group and rampant corruption.
South Africa’s Africa policy must compel African governments it engages with, to govern honestly, inclusively and democratically – lest their citizens flee to South Africa, putting additional pressure on the country’s resources. This means that, where African leaders and governments refuse to heed advice to govern democratically and therefore destabilise their own countries, a growth-led SA policy would be to actively support alternative democratic leaders, civil society and South African businesses operating in these countries.
South Africa must scrutinise trade, investment and political deals on the basis of whether it will lead to growth, employment and strengthen the country’s own companies.
For example, because of the legacy of Bantu education and the astonishing mismanagement of post-apartheid black education, the overwhelming majority of black South Africans have very little industry, technology relevant and entrepreneurial skills, all of which are essential to make a living in our times.
This means a South African foreign policy would be to get as many youth coming from failing township and rural public schools to secure industry and technology relevant skills wherever they can abroad; to secure partnerships between foreign investors and South African companies, particularly black-owned ones to do so, which would transfer relevant skills and technology.
To shift to a “new dawn” foreign policy, would necessitate a reorganisation of the architecture of South Africa’s Department of International Affairs. The quality of ambassadors and senior diplomats will have to be dramatically improved. Ambassadors and senior diplomats must be professionalised.
They must have the competence to open new markets, make quality political assessments of countries to aid appropriate South African interventions in incidents of poor governance which endanger South Africa’s interests, and at all times put the national interests first, not their own self or corrupt interests.
South African diplomats cannot be made up of incompetent politicians shipped abroad following scandal or patronage appointments. The departments of international affairs, trade and industry, economic development and agriculture will have to be closer aligned.
The ideas, skills and finance of South African business, civil society and academia must be brought closer into foreign policy. For example, the negotiation teams of South Africa must involve companies present in a country we are negotiating with, include academics who are experts on these countries and SA civil society groups which are active in these countries. A partnership between government, business and civil society in forging foreign, trade and international financial strategy, would provide the country with the capacity to come up with competitive strategies against its emerging and industrial country rivals.
Furthermore, SOEs with presence in Africa must be compelled to partner with private companies – providing development finance and facilitating market opening in markets in Africa, emerging markets and industrial countries. South Africa can learn from the East Asian “tigers”, the US, the EU and more lately from China, where the public, private sectors and civil society, team up to compete in foreign markets, where diplomacy pushes growth and industrialisation at home.
The governments of these countries provided cheap finance for exporters, helped open the markets of other countries and provide political support to their companies in foreign countries. These countries have also changed their educational institutions to emphasise industry relevant technical, business and finance training from primary to higher education.
