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Tuikila Kaiyamo
Namibia and South Africa have for 20 years enjoyed long and cordial relations at various levels: political partnerships, common history and, of course, various multilateral agreements.
At the same time, South Africa has been the main trading partner, hence its importance to our economy. Despite the fact that it exists as an immediate neighbor, the economic gap, to the extent that the Namibian economy can reach, is far from over.
Much research has been conducted on the volume of goods receipts in Namibia, with the inclusion of simple products, as well as debates about the need to separate the rand from our motto.
The growth of the Namibian economy has been heavily dependent on the performance of the South African economy on an annual basis.
This gives more reasons to look for and improve our manufacturing industries in order to create more local businesses meeting our goal of industrialization beyond 2030. However, reducing the considerable gap between the two countries and detaching the rand from our currency is not a linear process and is controlled by several major factors.
These factors include the presence of regional economic blocs such as the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), its pre-colonial history, its political influence and the dominance of its economy in Africa.
The agreements concluded by SACU in 1910 with the 1969 treaty gave birth to the initial domination of South Africa within the regional bloc of southern Africa, thus establishing as the monopoly . Other affected countries were Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland; three of the three territories of the High Commission of South Africa, before taking control of Namibia, then called South West Africa, through the new directives given by the League of Nations in 1920.
Namibia has been dubbed the fifth province and has remained instead of being prepared for independence and largely enslaved by the laws that separate people from their lands, their economy, their businesses, their farms , their natural resources and quality education.
The flow of goods and merchandise and the tariff barriers between the smaller nations and South Africa were entirely guided by South Africa on the basis of the common external tariff developed in South Africa. This gave them the lion's share of the financial income rising to 90%.
That is, South Africa has mainly put in place protectionist policies to ensure price and product controls over traded goods, making them relatively competitive in the global marketplace. .
Currently, this has made South Africa the sub-imperial power within the Southern African framework. In addition, its population exceeds 50 million, which represents about 90% of the total population of SACU.
South Africa also contributes to more than 90% of the gross regional product and 88% of the merchandise exports generated in the customs union.
Compared to Namibia, South Africa is not only dominant in terms of capacity, but it has a sophisticated financial sector, despite the global financial crisis looming. In addition, they have a well-established agricultural and manufacturing sector, more developed communication and transportation infrastructures and a range of advanced technological capabilities.
The huge difference in size and development of South Africa and its smaller neighboring countries explains the intra-regional trade surplus which is strongly in favor of South Africa, the latter being the main supplier of products. manufactures of Namibia. So, it may not be ideal to get away from the rand right now.
After the release of Nelson Mandela, the international community, especially the Western states, was keen for South Africa to play a dominant role in the affairs of the African continent, as far as economic development is concerned. 39, regional integration, interdependence, political democracy and conflict. resolutions.
However, South Africa may not have kept pace with the mobilization to make Africa a global trading partner.
With its reluctance to direct, its hostility towards its economic expansion and at the same time its efforts to tackle the deep legacy of the apartheid socio-economic legacy, the South Africa must adopt an emerging multipolarity on the continent.
Past experiences and the history of regional trade in Southern Africa have strongly influenced and determined the future prospects of regional free trade agreements.
Although direct direct investment is important, to obtain maximum returns, the number of foreign loans should be reduced, otherwise it would lead to a lack of trade and a further decline in the socio-economic growth of developing countries. our country.
Let's focus on long-term maintenance and self-sufficiency for future generations!
Tuikila Kaiyamo holds a B. Arts (Honors) from the University of Namibia and a Master's degree in International Relations from Westminster University, London, United Kingdom.
Journalist
2018-12-14 11:55:01 21 minutes ago
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