South Africa needs Africa

As xenophobia increasingly affects South Africa’s transport sector, MPIYAKHE DHLAMINI argues that economic cooperation with neighbouring African countries is essential for long-term prosperity and regional stability.

While I may disagree with interventionists on the right, left and centre, that doesn’t make me non-interventionist. There are many people who seem to have developed a simplistic form of nationalism that imagines a country can be free and prosperous while closing its borders and ignoring everything occurring outside them. This is what I call Wakanda nationalism, because it only works in fiction. In the real world, it leads to disaster – as it did for China, Korea and Japan in the past.

Historical isolationism in the East

What we learned from those examples is that countries that shut themselves off become poorer and less developed than everyone else. China first shut itself off through the Haijin policy (or sea bans), which restricted maritime trade from about 1434 to 1567. Then, from 1757 to 1842, it again limited Western influence on China. There was even a missed opportunity in 1793 to peacefully open trade with the British – refusal not only led to the Opium Wars that initiated China’s “century of humiliation”, but also meant China was ill-prepared for conflict because it had fallen behind the Western world, which had industrialised by that point.

Keep in mind that if you had described industrialisation to a well-informed medieval European, they would most likely have assumed China would be the first country to industrialise. The Chinese were known for innovation and manufacturing going back to ancient times. This is why trade along the Silk Road was such a major development and why the route carried that name.

The Chinese also had a large market and an abundance of capital, although emperors often squandered it. No one – certainly not medieval Britons – could have imagined that Britain would become the birthplace of industrialisation. Yet that is exactly what happened, as the British built a society with robust decentralised institutions and strong trade links to Europe and the rest of the world.

As an island nation, Britain understood that its survival depended on trade. These and other factors contributed to Britain winning the industrialisation race, while China and its East Asian neighbours shut themselves off from the world and were overtaken by the West, which they had once regarded as primitive.

Opening up to development

Both China and Japan were eventually forced open by Western powers – China by Britain in 1842 and Japan by the USA in 1853. Japan, to its credit, learned quickly and responded through the Meiji Restoration in 1868. China took longer to adapt and arguably only embraced those lessons fully during Deng Xiaoping’s reforms in 1978.

Korea, meanwhile, was not opened by a Western power but rather by Japan, which later colonised it. It was only after the Second World War and the establishment of South Korea that prosperity and greater freedom began to emerge. Rapid economic growth accelerated under the military government between 1961 and 1979. A key part of that strategy was making South Korea a competitive exporter rather than relying on import substitution – a policy modern South Africa still leans on despite considerable evidence of its shortcomings.

Similarly, Sub-Saharan Africa was a late bloomer in terms of development. While trade links existed from East Africa to the East and through the Sahara, they were limited compared to those enjoyed by Mediterranean civilisations.

All of this illustrates a simple point: isolation cannot create prosperity. Closing borders weakens countries culturally and economically. Yet this form of nationalism is gaining traction in South Africa. South Africans sometimes appear to believe the country can prosper while cutting ties with the region around it.

A melting pot of shared heritages

Firstly, our closest and most natural allies are on the African continent. We share cultural and historical ties with much of Sub-Saharan Africa, with many South Africans tracing origins to West and Central Africa before moving east and south during the Bantu migration more than 1,500 years ago. Christianity, which dominates South Africa, is also widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

From South Africa in the south to Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic and Cameroon in the north, there are striking similarities in language, culture and history. Much of this region also formed part of Britain’s African empire, creating institutional similarities between predominantly anglophone Southern African countries and their neighbours.

Another point is that African borders are often arbitrary. Why are there so many Basotho in the Free State bordering Lesotho? Why are there so many Swazi people in Mpumalanga? Why are there so many Batswana in the North West province instead of Botswana? Why are there so many Ndebele, Venda and Tsonga people in Zimbabwe?

These are all peoples who form part of South Africa. There is also a sizeable Xhosa population in Zimbabwe. In Mozambique, Tsonga people make up more than 20% of the population. These groups all share deep cultural and historical links with other communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. That is not to say borders should not be controlled, but there is little cultural basis for complete isolation.

Love thy neighbour

History also shows how isolationism can cause countries to fall behind neighbours and trading partners, eventually becoming vulnerable economically and politically. Our closest relationships should naturally be with our Sub-Saharan African neighbours – culturally, diplomatically, economically and in terms of security.

This becomes difficult when rhetoric demonises other Africans and paints them all as criminals. Such language dehumanises people with whom South Africans share deep historical and cultural ties.

On a practical level, our closest trade and security partners are our African neighbours. Trade with Africa plays a major role in reducing South Africa’s trade deficit. While trade with the West and China often relies heavily on raw commodity exports, many African countries buy South African manufactured goods and services.

There is little historical evidence that countries succeed by isolating themselves or ignoring neighbouring states. Cooperation is often how shared prosperity and security are built. This also means South Africa has a responsibility to contribute towards a more stable Africa. The more stable and prosperous neighbouring countries become, the easier it becomes to trade freely and manage migration pressures constructively.

When South Africans speak derisively about other Africans simply because they are poorer, we should remember that history changes quickly. Nations that appear strong today can weaken tomorrow. South Africa has an opportunity to build constructive relationships with its neighbours from a position of relative strength. That opportunity may not last forever.

Why FOCUS is publishing this article

The transport industry does not exist in isolation from the rest of Africa. Every day, thousands of trucks cross borders carrying goods between South Africa and neighbouring countries, linking economies, businesses and people across the region.

Yet the industry is also increasingly affected by xenophobia, political tension and hostility towards foreign nationals – particularly truck drivers from elsewhere in Africa. In recent years, violence, intimidation and anti-foreigner rhetoric have become uncomfortable realities on some South African freight routes. This makes the conversation around South Africa’s relationship with the rest of the continent deeply relevant to the transport sector.

Whether or not one agrees with every argument in Mpiyakhe Dhlamini’s article, it raises important questions about trade, regional cooperation, economic interdependence and the dangers of isolationism. These are issues that directly affect logistics operators, fleet owners, drivers and the broader supply chain.

FOCUS believes difficult conversations should not be avoided – especially when they have implications for an industry that depends on the free movement of goods, skills and commerce across borders.