South Africa and Globatisation: Quo Vadis? (THE FUTURE)

May 7th, 2008 — lekker

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

A number of salient issues and suggestions have emerged, which could form the basis of debate on the future of our country’s prosperity in the global arena:

Suggestion 1

Make The Art of War compulsory reading for all South African political and business leaders. It should also be part of the curricula in our business schools and universities, to help teach students to think strategically and competitively.

Suggestion 2

South Africa could adopt a policy of political and military neutrality in the short to medium term. This will ensure that all of the country’s focus and energy will be channelled into developing it beyond its current emerging status. The alternative is dissipating our efforts by a fragmented application of our resources. Government military involvement in the affairs of other nations, for example, takes resources away from more pressing matters, such as human capital development. Such activities may serve only to satisfy personal egos. The point that wanton integration into the global economy could, in the long run, be detrimental to a developing economy’s health. Adopting a policy of neutrality would enable South Africa to pursue a more structured and coordinated approach to integration. Are our political leaders so eager to be seen in global terms that they are trying to integrate our economy at all costs? The result could be the neglect of a lot of fundamentals, such as poverty reduction. This does not mean that South Africa should not think big, but timing and sequencing of progression is of vital importance to longer-term development and prosperity.

BEEPartner SA EconomyOne only needs to look at what is happening in Brazil, a co- invite with South Africa to the G7 meeting in London in Februar 2005. Desperate to have his country recognised as an important player on the global stage, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has overseen his country’s strongest economic growth in a decade during 2004, with a GDP that constitutes about 45 per cent of all of South America. His troops are leading the peacekeeping force in Haiti. His stated goal is to secure a seat for Brazil on the UN Security Council in the event that the council is expanded. Despite all of this, out of a population of 180 million, about 28 per cent are malnourished. South Africa should not get sucked into this type of competition. After all, there are still 22 million South Africans living in poverty, a human capital issue that needs to be addressed.

Suggestion 3

South Africa should adopt a more radical strategic paradigm, and its basis must be the development of the right kind of society on which a globally competitive nation can be built. In other words, we need to reinvent ourselves from a societal perspective.

Suggestion 4

Give serious consideration to an African ‘flying geese pattern’ of socio-economic development, with South Africa taking the lead economic role. After all, South Africa is the business and financial hub of the continent. From a global strategic perspective, this would serve a number of purposes, and, as it has worked elsewhere in the world, there is no reason why it should not work in Africa. The benefits are as follows:

  • Africa would not get left behind in world economic development, as it could give itself a more manageable format to work to.
  • Setting the pattern for African countries to follow would enable those countries to better utilise their resources.
  • It would engender a greater sense of cooperative economic thinking on the African continent.

It would give Africa the opportunity to develop its own unique economic model of development, and lessen its reliance on outside agencies and parties. South Africa would essentially become the Japan of Africa.

Suggestion 5

There needs to be a greater alignment between South African businesses and the South African government for each to understand the needs of the other. Our companies have to align themselves with where the country is going, and the government should align itself with where our companies need to go in the global arena.

Suggestion 6

South Africa must do more to develop the single most important asset to economic growth in the modern globalised world, namely human capital.

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Posted in Economy, Government.

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