SA must not lose sovereignty in its eagerness for global trade

There was a buzz in the media around the recent visitors from the United Arab Emirates, including their President President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The landing of the plane in the Eastern Cape became a talking point across SA.

Premier Oscar Mabuyane earlier led a team to the UAE for trade and bilateral talks.

The two events attest to the temperature in the country. the On plane one in side, Bhisho the’landing s Bulembu of airport was interpreted by some as a sheer disregard for SA’s laws.

The veneer of cover here uses trade and bilateral agreements as a Trojan horse.

To some, this represented another way SA is being sold to the highest bidder.

There have been attempts by provincial and national government authorities to walk the plank and give an explanation in a bid to curtail growing suspicions.

Conversely, the visit by the UAE delegation was welcomed by some in and outside the province.

For instance, the president of the Black Business Forum, Luthando Bara, lauded the visit as having potential economic benefits for the Eastern Cape.

The concerns on the ground are a stark reminder of a dark moment in history the landing of the Gupta family at Waterkloof, a national key point.

To some, this is a deja vu moment, a grim reminder that we have been here before.

These jaded concerns drown bilateral agreements and trade narratives, rendering them less significant.

A perfunctory visit to a UAE supermarket during a recent visit yielded some fascinating findings.

I was happy to notice a range of SA fruit on display just at the end of Ramadan.

The management informed me the fruit came mostly from the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.

Being told the fruit was from the Eastern and Western Cape provinces was a moment when you wear a badge of honour.

You begin to extoll household names from the province that those in the UAE market would not even know of.

These include farmers such as Lundi Kama, operating within the Gubenxa Valley in the Eastern Cape, an area considered favourable for fruit farming.

It is predicted that 49% of deciduous fruit produced in the Eastern Cape is exported.

Three crucial issues can be gleaned from this experience.

This is the type of teaching material an academic like me would use in a strategic management course on business and society.

First, as SA, we must diversify our trade connections and continue looking globally.

For instance, research published in the Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management places weight and importance on the SA fruit industry.

This industry accounts for 35% of all SA agricultural exports. Next to Spain, SA is the second largest citrus exporter in the world.

Countries like the UAE potentially become an important market into which the SA fruit farming industry can tap into.

There is a conviction here that SA can remain relevant through trade and bilateral agreements especially internationally.

Second, we need trading blocs that matter.

This does not mean we rush exclusively to those international partners with whom we have historically enjoyed trade and bilateral relations.

The global arena has created a market where we can forge new friendships.

For SA, this is an opportunity as new superpowers take to the international stage.

An initiative to be commended is the African Continental Free Trade Area, of which SA is a member.

The commendable prospect here is the elimination of trade barriers between various African member countries.

Such a move has the potential for socioeconomic development on the continent.

Third, trade should not come at the expense of sovereignty.

Our quest to leave an international footprint in the trade arena should not come as a modern day enslavement in which we shame our nation.

To this end, a level of accountability is not only expected, but judging from the past, calls for this are inevitable.

Trade and trade relations could fuel the engine of poverty alleviation and an awakening to the world of our prowess.

This plane should not only take off but continue to soar.

● Willie Chinyamurindi is a professor at the University of

Fort Hare in the department of business management. He writes in his own capacity. The article was written during his sabbatical to the UAE University in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates.