By Edward Chisanga

Africa’s obsession in the United Nations

African leaders are overly-obsessed with their countries becoming members of the United Nations Security Council which currently comprises only five permanent member countries – Russia, the USA, China, the United Kingdom and France. They argue that they’re underrepresented and marginalized therefore most important global decisions are made for them by these developed countries and China. It is the permanent members that have the power to veto and are basically ones making critical decisions on the UN’s major global issues. Many decisions made by the five permanent members are perceived as unfair, unjust and of inequality characteristics. South Africa has served as a non-permanent member for a third term in 2019-2020 and is most vocal. Its President recently called for it to be overhauled and for its composition to be representative of the global landscape.

My message

My message and advise to the President of South Africa is that whatever and however unfair these decisions are to Africa and his country, I doubt that joining the security council will help Africa and his country develop. Africa’s development will not come from the organization that I once worked for. More importantly, the UN security council will never generate development for Africa and South Africa. Prioritizing membership of the UN security council will only distract South Africa and Africa from addressing major economic challenges, mainly poverty, facing their countries.

South Africa’s economy is dwindling.

Even prior to the arrival of the ugly face of Covid19, the most powerful economy in Africa has been tottering and slumping. The track record since taking over from white rule, seen in Figure 1 below was an impressive GDP per capita growth, from minus 2.7% in 1990 to 4.3% in 2006. However, since then, the downturn trend took over, driving the economy down into negative, in the larger part of period to 2020 when GDP per capita growth tumbled to minus 8.2%, its lowest. GDP per capita that is not growing affects living standards negatively. Addressing this challenge seems to be more important to me than spending public time positioning oneself to become member of the UN security council.

The role of manufacturing in South Africa’s economy is faltering

South Africa is Africa’s crowning glory in manufacturing. It is the only country in Africa offering any real global competitiveness. But this dominant role has been diminishing since black rule took over in the 1990s as seen by its proportion in the GDP in Figure 2 below. Black rule took over when the proportion was about 24% but this abraded down to 13.2% in 2019. It means that the role of manufacturing in the economy is losing ground. My priority would be to find answers to this challenge and use it to feed million poor people in South Africa if I were President of this country.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

I have another message for him. The President of South Africa is hypocritical when he continues to lament about the unrepresentativeness of the UN security council. Mr. Ramaphosa was fairly poor during the struggle to dismantle the apartheid regime. Today, he belongs to the very rich elite and economy of a few beneficiaries at the expense of the majority. If the UN security council is unrepresentative to Africa and South Africa, the South African economy over which he presides is to many poor South Africans.

It is the most discriminative economy on the continent that continues to perpetuate growing poverty among its African people. If a few UN security council members make decisions for the majority, the South African elite does for majority poor South Africans. I would focus on bringing inclusive development to South Africa if I were him. Being member of the UN security council will not feed the many starving poor South Africans. It is likely to only upgrade President Ramaphosa’s personal image at the very expense of his own starving people.

Concluding

The message to South Africa President cuts across other African leaders. The notes are for them too. African citizens will not feed themselves from the UN security council if our countries become members. Our leaders’ priority is to find answers for the growing and never diminishing poverty. I earnestly appeal to them to scale back their ambitions. Viet Nam, which has overtaken the whole continent of Africa in global exports of manufactured goods did not look to the security council but its own people.