Conclusion and Recommendations

South Africa has been championing multilateral efforts to resolve global problems. It has been providing practical progressive ideas on key global governance, democracy, political, economic, and financial, human resources development, trade and military issues, demonstrating its leadership in conflict resolution, peace and security, reconstruction and development in deserving African countries particularly as a donor country. Its membership to BRICS is a substantial and welcome addition to its diplomatic weapons in its contribution towards the transformation of continental and global socio-political and economic environment. Its being a member of BRICS is the forward movement towards a coherent or combined and articulated alliance characterised by strong negotiating positions within multilateral institutions and forums in the interests of Africa.

The fact that South Africa is stronger than any other African country in terms of its political, economic, financial, trade, human resources, and technological development gives it an opportunity to lead African countries on their way to structural change and transformation.

South Africa needs the rest of Africa in its contribution towards the end of the role the continent has continued playing within the international division of labour. Its contribution to the development of the rest of Africa depends primarily on Africans themselves. It depends, in particular, on the structural transformation of the relationship between African societies and their leaders. On the one hand, the implementation of long-term plans for African integration and African development requires that African leaders pay more attention to popular demands in their countries.

On the other hand, achievement of the objectives of integration and development requires that African countries demonstrate a concerted and tangible commitment to substantially reduce the over-dependence of the AU on Western donor funding. The legitimacy of continental projects driven by the African Union is questioned by the fact that Western donors fund ninety-seven percent of its programmes. Central to this problem is the fact that without external donors, the African Union cannot carry out its programmes. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission, in responding to the fact that nearly all of the African Union programmes are funded by donors, pointed out: “No liberated mind can think their development agenda can be funded by donors.” This response is valid particularly given the fact that Africans “should be more self reliant,” that their “governments must put more money there (in the AU).”²⁶¹ In addition, as she points out, donors are also funding African institutions to develop the continent’s strategic agenda, a fundamental task whose conceptualisation should be financially taken care of by African countries through the African Union.

It is this important task of reducing the dependence of the African Union on Western donor funds that we should take into account while discussing the current role and future prospects of BRICS in Africa.