International relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday set out the economic realities he said South Africa intends to confront at the G20 summit when world leaders gather in Johannesburg this weekend.
Referencing South Africa’s contribution to global manufacturing and the green transition, Lamola said while South Africa produces many of the critical inputs needed for technologies such as electric vehicles, “our minerals are being extracted and exported out of the country”.
This pattern, he warned, drains jobs, weakens local industries and limits the wider economic opportunities that should flow from South Africa’s resource base. “This is what we will address at the G20 [summit],” he said. “We will share views and exchange knowledge and use that information for the benefit of all.”
Lamola said part of the challenge was acknowledging the structural barriers that have held back intra-African trade and the continent’s participation in global value chains. “We are trading at 16%, when we should be at 30% or more and make better use of the Africa free trade arena. This is the revolution we will embark on and address the economic imbalance.”
He pointed to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) as an example of progress tempered by unrealised potential. Despite being one of Africa’s most organised regional blocs, Lamola said Sadc’s intra-regional trade was at 21%, when its target should be closer to 50%.
“The challenge is to work for regional integration. Africa is a resource for minerals and AI — not just as a consumer."
Lamola, who was speaking at a Time magazine event, also highlighted the imbalance in revenue models for digital platforms, particularly when African creators share their work on global social media networks.
“We receive little compensation for this, compared with markets such as Europe,” he said, arguing that Africa needed to examine how best to use its own resources and intellectual property to forge stronger and fairer partnerships with the global north.
“We have young people who must contribute to research and innovation, and we should be adequately paid for our content creation.”
Despite the scale of the issues he outlined, Lamola struck an upbeat and confident tone, emphasising that these were precisely the sort of structural questions that needed to be addressed at a forum such as the G20.
His remarks dovetailed with the broader set of priorities announced for this year’s G20 presidency, which include strengthening disaster resilience and response; ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries; mobilising finance for a just energy transition; and harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
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