BRICS has taken a “dangerous political direction” with the admittance of new members like Iran and Saudi Arabia. That is the view of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Shadow Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Emma Louise Powell. She speaks to BizNews following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa today (Thursday 24 August) that BRICS has decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to become full members. Powell says, until this week, the BRICS grouping has been “rather innocuous”, but given the inclusion of countries like Iran and Saudi, she thinks that BRICS is headed in “a rather dangerous political direction that does not serve South Africa’s economic security or democratic interests”. That means that DA “would certainly make representations towards reviewing our membership when the time came”. – Chris Steyn
Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.
Watch here
Relevant timestamps from the interview
- 00:09 – Introductions
- 00:27 – Emma Louise Powell on President Ramaphosa’s big announcement during the summit
- 02:51 – On BRICS being more powerful due to the inclusion of the oil rich countries
- 04:29 – On talks around deDollarisation
- 07:28 – what trends are emerging in South Africa’s foreign policy now
- 13:45 – if there is a coalition government, will South Africa stay in BRICS
- 17:46 – Conclusions
Listen here
Highlights from the interview
BRICS has taken a “dangerous political direction” with the admittance of new members like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
That is the view of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) Shadow Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Emma Louise Powell.
She speaks to BizNews following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa today (Thursday 24 August) that BRICS had decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members.
Read more: Decoding BRICS: Unity, rivalry, and South Africa’s diplomatic gambit – Katzenellenbogen
In his speech at the closing ceremony, the President said their membership would take effect from 1 January 2024.
In her reaction, Powell says: “We are deeply, deeply concerned. It’s what we have been warning about for a number of weeks now.”
Asked whether South Africa would remain in BRICS if a coalition government came into power after next year’s national elections, Powell says: “…in light of now today’s announcement on the membership of nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia, the DA will revise its position to, I think, potentially a firmer stance on reviewing South Africa’s membership of BRICS given the direction in which it’s headed.
“So to summarise, until this week, the BRICS grouping has been rather innocuous. But given the announcements that have been made between Sunday and now, the inclusion of countries like Iran and Saudi, I think that the BRICS is headed in a rather dangerous political direction that does not serve South Africa’s economic security or democratic interests.
“And I think that the DA would certainly make representations towards reviewing our membership when the time comes.”
Commenting on the criteria used to admit new members, Powell says: “We are deeply concerned about this given the ongoing lack of transparency from our Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, and our president relating to the assessment criteria that the BRICS grouping has used to determine who will and will not be permitted membership.
“We have seen in recent years that there has been a pointedly political tone that BRICS has taken, which poses a concern. And I think at this point, all South Africans need to be asking our leaders to define for us exactly what kind of a world they are wanting to shape and create via BRICS. Because it seems as if our leaders’ immediate objectives are not known.”
Powell adds: “South Africa is a constitutional democracy. We are committed to constitutional values like human rights, tolerance, freedom, the rule of law, democracy – and cozying up with nations that oppress the voices of women, oppress the participation of women in their economies, that have been involved in conflicts, that have gone to the heart of human rights violations in places like Syria and Yemen, some of the worst atrocities committed in the modern day world, nations that have been actively arming those regimes…
“To now have permitted those nations entry into BRICS is a massive concern. “The President also said, just to belabour this point, that the membership of these nations that will take place from January next year is part of the BRICS’ objective of shaping the world. And we need to be asking what kind of a world our Presidency and the ANC government are now trying to shape.”
In his speech, President Ramaphosa said that, leading up to the Summit, there had been a wide-ranging BRICS business programme aimed at attracting investment, promoting collaboration and showcasing opportunities within South Africa, Africa and BRICS countries.
“We welcome the clear vision of Ms Dilma Rousseff as the President of the New Development Bank on the role that the Bank should play in support of infrastructure and sustainable development in Africa and the Global South.
“We addressed our expectations for the BRICS economic partnership to generate tangible benefits for our communities and deliver viable solutions for common challenges faced by the global South.
“We shared our vision of BRICS as a champion of the needs and concerns of the peoples of the Global South. These include the need for beneficial economic growth, sustainable development and reform of multilateral systems.”
Read more: Melanie Verwoerd on the ANC post-2024: Shifting political landscapes in South Africa
The President urged multilateral financial institutions and international organisations to play a constructive role in building global consensus on economic policies.
Referring to the possible creation of a reserve currency, he said: “We have noted that there is global momentum for the use of local currencies, alternative financial arrangements and alternative payment systems.
“As BRICS, we are ready to explore opportunities for improving the stability, reliability and fairness of the global financial architecture.
“The Summit agreed to task the BRICS Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors, as appropriate, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to the BRICS leaders by the next Summit.”
On further expansion of BRICS, the President said: “We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow.
“We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS.
“We have tasked our Foreign Ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next Summit.”
Read also:
- BRICS expansion warning: Democracies diluted, rogues’ gallery silenced by China – Dr Christopher Sabatini
- Fears “coup regime” will hijack Zim election – despite weak opposition
- Dump the junk – Magnus Heystek debunks the Big Mac Index
