South Africa as a Gateway to Africa

Abstract

IntroductionThe idea of South Africa acting as a gateway to Africa goes back to the 1950s. The new Afrikaner government went all out to convince the western world that despite its internal apartheid policies South Africa way the only beacon of hope on the impoverished continent and should be regarded as a conduit for external development aid and programs for the rest of the continent (Miti, 2002). For then and now the idea of South Africa as a gateway to Africa was based on two main factors. First of all South Africa has always presented itself as an integral part of the continent despite the existence of a large white population whose development ideals were tied to the west. As part of the continent it claimed to have a better understanding of Africa and its people. It thus deserved an intermediary role between the west and the rest of the continent. The international community should therefore channel aid, trade and investments through the country. In short South Africa should act as a bridge between the West and Africa. Second South Africa has the most developed economy on the continent with first rate economic infrastructure. The country is therefore best placed to act as a springboard to those wanting to invest on the continent. Furthermore, South Africa is set to act as a development catalyst for the poverty stricken continent (Blumenfeld, 2010; South Africa Foreign Policy Monitor, 2008; The South African Foundation, 2004).The new democratic government that took over power in 1994 retained the same assumptions and saw the end of apartheid as making it possible for South Africa to assume its rightful role as not only the Saviour of the continent but also as a bridge builder between the west and the continent. The African renaissance which has seen blacks in South Africa overcome the formidable apartheid system should act as a spur to Africa's revival and prosperity. The new government took upon itself a messianic mantel to save the continent (Vale and Maseko, 1998; Solomon, 2010).This article looks at how the ANC government has pursued its messianic role of bridge builder between the west and the continent and of catalyst and Savior of the dark and impoverished continent. There are currently a lot of misgivings that South Africa might be losing its gateway status to others (Games, 2010, 2011; Sunday Times, 2011; The Star, 2011). The government is accused of not doing enough to promote South Africa Inc or Team South Africa1 in the rest of the continent given the arrival of non western players - the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The government is therefore called upon to increase its competitiveness on the continent in the face of the aggressive entry of the BRIC players that have ushered in a new struggle for the continent's resources. But can South Africa compete with the BRIC club to which it has been recently invited to join? This leads us to the second part of this article that is, looking at the reality of South Africa's trade and investments on the continent. On the basis of its existing trade and investments, can South Africa be seen as a development catalyst on the continent? Can it indeed act as a gateway to Africa? The last section of this article offers some suggestions on South Africa's continued engagement with the rest of the continent. South Africa's future development needs the rest of Africa both as a market and an investment destination given the size of its population and the very limited purchasing power of the large part of this population (constituted by unemployed youth and poor black population). This has remained a major constraint on domestic growth and is likely to remain so for a very long time. This means that South Africa's economic growth will depend on how fast its immediate neighbours and the rest of the continent will grow (Globbelaar, 2008).The African National Congress's (ANC) African AgendaAt the centre of the ANC government's foreign policy is what has been broadly termed the 'African Agenda'. …