NOMVULA MOKONYANE: ‘There shall be peace and friendship’: Brics offers hope for Global South

The Freedom Charter, a policy and visionary document crafted by our predecessors, includes a powerful declaration emphasising the importance of establishing peaceful and friendly relationships: “There Shall Be Peace and Friendship”.

This vision aims to use those friendships to promote and maintain global peace.

The 15th Brics summit, hosted by the ANC-led government, was held under the theme “Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”.

Under this theme, the government centred its multilateral approach on development, industrialisation, regional integration, inclusive growth and trade, not only with the Brics member states, but also with the rest of the African continent, with the clear vision of building a better Africa and a better world.

This Africa-centred approach is the realisation of the pan-Africanist aspirations of our forebears, while promoting south-south co-operation and advancing progressive internationalist values of international and continental solidarity with those marginalised from the post-World War 2 international order. In doing so, we reaffirm our historic mission of creating a more humane, just, equitable, democratic and free international society.

The 15th Brics summit was a watershed moment in the history of our postcolonial international system as the countries convened to mark the end of the brutalities of unipolar world order and reaffirmed the existing reality of a multipolar world.

The ability of the government to convene more than 50 heads of state and government to deliberate on some of the most pressing issues of the day exemplifies the respect, credibility, integrity and fortitude the ANC government has in addressing the world’s problems.

At the 5th Brics summit hosted in SA in 2013, leaders resolved to create a New Developmental Bank. To date, the NDB has supported 98 investment projects amounting to about $33bn (about R610bn) for 2023, and for 2024 they have 76 projects totalling $18.2bn (about R335bn).

On August 15, the NDB issued R1.5bn in rand bonds, making it the highest issuer since 2015. These are examples of how visionary leadership by the government has longer-term benefits for the local economy. Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe joining the NDB will be welcomed, as they will contribute to the further development and strengthening of the bank.

The diversification of export economies is key to SA’s economic growth and development. More than 81.5% of exports in 2022 were delivered to 25 international partners. Hence, trade diversification also strengthens SA’s risk profile and enables us to leverage untapped markets, especially when there are downturns or cyclical flows in markets predominantly seen in commodity-driven economies like ours.

In addition, as mentioned on platforms, the extractive nature of our trade relations and the structure of our economies impedes our development without beneficiation. This renders us consumers of our wealth instead of us being beneficiaries.

The discussions around industrialising economic investments by Brics partners, including investments plugged into the continent’s integration efforts through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, could prove to be a game-changer for SMMEs. This is a departure from the historic colonial resource extraction model that remains a legacy on our continent.

Our historic mission as the ANC is to achieve peace through friendship, including diplomacy and multilateralism. Our position of non-alignment is premised on finding peace through dialogue, creating platforms for multilateral engagement, and ensuring lives are saved.

The African Peace Initiative led by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa remains the cornerstone of Africa’s approach to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Brics summit also created platforms for international actors to engage on possible entry points to resolving the bottlenecks in coming to amicable solutions to international challenges.

The expansion of the Brics bloc merely reaffirms the existing emerging powers of this world, which have often been ignored in the international system due to certain countries imposing their hegemony on others.

The interest from more than 20 countries to join Brics shows the embedded win-win approach of its partners. We welcome the inclusion of Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates into the Brics family. Their inclusion and contributions to the grouping will be invaluable in creating a more multipolar world.

Moreover, the Brics women’s council will definitely benefit significantly from the expansion of the Brics family. Of course, it goes without saying this development falling within Women’s Month in the SA context is indicative of our determination to ensure gender equality and empowerment is not a rhetorical statement, but has its own distinct agenda in developmental affairs.

The 15th Brics summit is a symbol of hope for the Global South with a clear intent to place the youth at the centre of humanities development by creating a Brics youth council. It marks a turning point in history where those who have suffered under the tyranny of others can join together for a future that includes everyone.

This also represents a new era of friendship and collaboration with the rest of the world as we move beyond the constraints of a colonial past. Let us honour the legacy of OR Tambo, ZK Matthews, Ruth First and Dulcie September by continuing to build a better Africa and a better world.

• Nomvula Mokonyane is deputy secretary-general of the ANC: head of international relations.