International relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola has secured his first victory on the continent after having successfully lobbied for South Africa to lead the African Union's Infrastructure and Energy Council.
South Africa nominated Lerato Mataboge as the youngest candidate for the AU commission.
The current deputy director-general in the department of trade, industry and competition, Mataboge said she intends to position Africa for future growth, in a world shaped by climate change and an evolution to green technologies.
South Africa had undertaken intense lobbying in the Sadc region and at the AU to get their candidates over the line.
Six positions were contested for various councils with South Africa choosing to nominate Dr Molapo Qhobela and Mataboge for the roles of Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) and Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, respectively.
Whilst permutations meant that the ESTI commissioner role went to Eswatini, an insider said Pretoria had set its sights on the infrastructure and energy council.
They said South Africa's candidate as commissioner in the ESTI fell off because Sadc was already represented by Eswatini.
Mataboge was up against Cameroon and won the vote.
A diplomat said Lamola's team conducted intense lobbying in the days leading up to the election.
“To some extent we had to say to Sadc we are going to continue without candidature, it's not easy to tell that to Sadc, but we had to do it. It was intense lobbying. We had to ensure that we go to our strategic partners, but also those that we know would require our support for what they need. The system at the AU is a lot of give and take and you make concessions here and there to ensure your candidate goes over the line,” they said.
The insider said that while South Africa went up against Cameroon for the Infrastructure and Energy Council position, West Africa was Pretoria's strategic ally.
The election of Mataboge is considered by South Africa's diplomats as the rebuilding of the Thabo Mbeki, Meles Zenawi (Ethiopia) and Oluṣẹgun Ọbasanjọ (Nigeria) era with South Africa rekindling its African network.
Lamola's spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said this victory clearly signified that South Africa plays a very critical role on the continent.
“We have a continent that has energy and infrastructure problems and for a South African to be at the centre of that is quite a significant responsibility and I think a great honour for South Africa. It's a responsibility that we are determined to see through.
“Africa continues to lose 40% of its competitiveness due to the absence of efficient and adequate infrastructure. Whether it's the wars we are seeing that destroy our critical infrastructure, we have critical infrastructure problem in Africa.”
He said Mataboge's role in the department of trade, industry and competition meant that she was well suited for the position.
“She has that experience of working at an international level, working on the continent and she will draw on that experience to bring a lot of infrastructure initiatives over the line,” he said.
Lamola has been under pressure since he took the reins from one of South Africa's most popular international relations ministers, Naledi Pandor, who took on the US at the height of tensions between the two states over the Russian war on Ukraine.
Lamola will face his biggest task this year when he hosts several superpowers as South Africa hosts the G20 summit.
Considered to have received a baptism of fire less than a year into his position, Lamola has had to quickly develop negotiating skills after South Africa's tensions with Rwanda escalated following its decision to deploy peacekeeping soldiers to the Democratic republic of the Congo (DRC) in the war with the M23 Rebels.
At least 14 South African soldiers were caught in the crossfire and died leading to a clumsy statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa which raised the ire of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame when he referred to Rwanda's military as a “militia”.
Lamola then attempted to manage the PR storm by conducting media tours and meeting with Sadc's delegation over the tensions.
Not long after that Lamola was hit by another storm when his counterpart and US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced he would not be attending the G20 summit.
Lamola is scheduled to host more than 20 countries including India, Brazil, Japan, member states of the EU and China's foreign ministers later this month.
“The [AU] Council meets amid the continent that is bedevilled by inter and intrastate conflicts, terrorism and violent extremism, poverty, food and energy insecurity, the impact of climate change, inadequate infrastructure, low productivity, trade barriers and continued dependence on external aid and markets.
“The ongoing debt crisis by African countries and the consequent default on their debt repayments remains an issue of serious concern for the continent. According to the World Bank Report, as of July 2024, 22 African countries were either in or at a high risk of debt distress that required debt restructuring,” the ministry said in a statement.
It goes without saying that Lamola needed a win to bolster his confidence as he prepares to host some of South Africa's biggest trading partners and investors.
Mataboge said she intends to focus the work of the Infrastructure and Energy Commission on greater co-ordination within the AU as well as with external strategic stakeholders to improve strategic alignment and synchronicity of policy.
“I will strengthen the AU’s convening power and thought-leadership position, and I will strengthen the culture of accelerated implementation, evidence-based policymaking, and impact-based delivery models. The culture of agility and greater responsiveness to our multiple stakeholders requires special focus in the AU and my experience with ‘one-stop-shop’ approaches can add great value to the AU’s stakeholder engagement processes for maximum delivery and impact.
“My ultimate goal is for Africa to be a credible global rule-maker, not a perpetual global rule-taker. I want to contribute meaningfully to an Africa that is diversified, digitised and decarbonised to meet the intrinsic needs of the African child; and through the intrinsic talents of the African child.”
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