Nokukhanya Mntambo
Africa-Press – Cape verde. African National Congress (ANC) treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa said that African countries must assert their dominance in the global economy.
Ramokgopa made the comments during the party’s gala dinner in Midrand On Tuesday night to welcome BRICS diginaties to the country.
The bloc’s 15th annual summit kicks off on Tuesday, with South Africa leading the pack as this year’s host nation.
It’s the first time that the five emerging economies meet again since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Africa continues to grapple with a range of economic crises, unemployment and inequality, Ramokgopa believes the continent must challenge the global perception that its status is sub-par.
“We do not need to go into BRICS as beggars, an idea that our president [Cyril Ramaphosa] shared on behalf of developing nations recently in Paris, nor do we have to go in with nothing to offer. He said ‘we are going into BRICS for trade and mutual benefit. South Africa and, by extension, Africa has more than a lot to offer the world.'”
Ramokgopa believes BRICS must help overhaul the existing global governance structures in a bid to give Africa a seat at the table.
“It is time that the countries that were left behind pull up their socks and advance. It is time that the countries that have been left behind in poverty, in underdevelopment, in unemployment, like in our country, are now able to see a better future and be shoulder to shoulder with those that are ahead of them.”
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