Ramaphosa proves Africa can stand strong At every turn, any country requires strong leadership. Russian president Vladimir Putin is no longer coming to South Africa but will participate in all Brics Summit deliberations in Johannesburg next month, virtually.
The sky will not fall, and an important event of Brics countries, which includes, South Africa, Russia, China, Brazil and India, will take place unhindered, without anyone looking over their shoulder and worrying whether the Russian leader runs the risk of being arrested and handcuffed by the police.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant of arrest against Putin for alleged human rights abuses involving the abduction of children in Ukraine.
But Brics is about something bigger than political theatrics. It’s about the desire by Brics countries to assert and establish their authority as a self-sufficient economic block – claiming its distinct right to escape the US and European dominance and hegemony.
Should South Africa forgo its Rome Statute membership?
When the dark clouds of apartheid oppression dissipated following the ANC electoral victory in the first democratic election of 1994 to form a democratic
order, the new administration decided, led by late president Nelson Mandela, to join the ICC. This was a gesture to display to the world that the country had become a member of a democratic order and would abide by the Rome Statute that theoretically subscribes to human rights values and the rule of law.
Many decades ago, informed by the teachings of Kwame Nkrumah and Pan-Africanism, Africa embraced the ideals of independence, driven by the principles that Africa, without any western influence or dominance, should do what best suits its needs in a continent that had for ages been colonised.
This week President Cyril Ramaphosa lived up to that ideal. Today, by mutual agreement with Ramaphosa, Putin will not attend the summit. He will instead be represented by his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. For this we applaud Ramaphosa. He has asserted his authority and that of SA to act in ways to enhance the country’s interests.
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