Former President Jacob Zuma has told a gathering in Ghana, West Africa, that the BRICS group of countries was formed as a form of rebellion against financial colonialism.
The former head of state, now president of the official opposition MK Party, said this after US President Donald Trump in July threatened to impose additional tariffs on countries aligned with BRICS.
Zuma said that for decades after independence, African states turned to the IMF and World Bank for loans, hoping for development support.
Instead, they walked into economically crippling debt traps and humiliation.
He said that Brazil, Russia, India, and China had to form BRICS to counter this. South Africa joined the grouping later as these countries declared that enough is enough.
Revolution against dollar empire
“BRICS was not created as a debating society; it was a rebellion against financial colonialism, an assertion that the Global South must chart its own path in the world economy,” Zuma told the UPSA Annual Leadership Lecture in Ghana.
“BRICS is not just an alliance; it is a revolution against the dollar empire.”
The theme of the lecture was “The Geopolitics and Geo-economics of De-dollarisation: BRICS Currency Strategy, Lessons for Africa’s Common Currency, and Beyond.”
Zuma added that when South Africa joined BRICS in 2010, it was not as a junior partner; it was as Africa’s anchor.
“We entered BRICS as the bridge that would connect the continent to this new global experiment.
“This mattered because Africa holds the resources the world cannot live without: cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo that powers the batteries of electric cars and cellphones, platinum from South Africa that drives the automotive industry, cocoa from west Africa that sweetens the world, and oil and gas from Nigeria and Angola that fuel economies.”
He also mentioned the gold deposits found in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali.
Building new financial systems
Zuma told the gathering that new technologies mean countries can use other means to bypass transactions that can be controlled in the US or by the EU.
“We live in an age of digital revolution. New technologies allow us to build financial systems that cannot be controlled from Washington or Brussels. Blockchain platforms, central bank digital currencies, and regional clearinghouses are being tested.
“Some African banks are already experimenting with cross-border payments in local currencies. This is the future; Bitcoin is often raised as an example. While volatile, it proves that currencies outside Western control can circulate globally.
“We must not merely be spectators; Africa must design its own platforms. SWIFT [Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications] serves as a colonial stifling mechanism; we must establish our systems as the vital conduits for Africa’s future.
“If they can sanction our banks, we must build our own. If they can switch off SWIFT, we must switch on Africa,” Zuma said.
