EU must invest in Africans
SOUTH Africa may have prioritised partnerships with the BRICS countries, but the Ramaphosa administration also considers relations with Western Europe a priority, if his engagement with the EU this week is anything to go by.
If foreign policy is to be a reflection of our domestic agenda – which is to spur economic growth and create jobs – then Ramaphosa’s approach makes perfect sense.
We need all the friends we can get, and while elements of Europe have swung to the right, for the most part the EU remains on the same page as South Africa when it comes to democracy, good governance, human rights, and the need to maintain a rules-based multilateral global order.
But beyond politics and values is the need to attract significant new investment, which means targeting Europe as much as the BRICS countries.
There are already over 2 000 European-based companies operating in South Africa, and it is in our interest to further increase that number if we want to build our manufacturing base and reduce the shockingly high unemployment in this country.
Ramaphosa’s fundamental concern is to deliver on his promise to ensure higher levels of economic growth, efficient service delivery, and put this nation to work. This vision will never be accomplished without attracting foreign investment and that also means creating the domestic conditions to increase investor confidence.
While it is true that China has offered us new development financing, assisted in building our manufacturing base, and developed infrastructure that will facilitate infra-african trade, there is no reason why the EU can’t also contribute in these sectors.
Our development partners need to move beyond seeing Africa in terms of spheres of influence; their assistance needs to be about the people of
Africa, and how best to enhance the development trajectory of their countries so they are able to effectively compete as economies of scale.
If the EU is committed to that same vision, there is every reason for Ramaphosa to embrace the bloc, just as he has the BRICS countries.
International relations are always fluid and partnerships are never permanent. As a country we need to choose our friends based on what is in our national interest. We should celebrate the enthusiasm with which EU policymakers were willing to strengthen their relations with us.