By This is the very essence of “African solutions for African problems.” I know this principle is feared by some, who worry it can become a slogan behind which tyrants hide.
Africa must solve its own problems; that was the basic message by the Minister for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) in South Africa Mr Ronald Lamola during the Thabo Mbeki Foundation second Annual Peace and Security Dialogue in South Africa on Thursday, 4 September 2025.
Lamola emphasised that Africa needs to pull together in order to reach its maximum economic potential and claim its rightful economic place in the globe. The Minister said the continued conflicts on the continent weakens Africa and those who do not have minerals on their continent exploit the African nations and they benefit far more than the African countries themselves.
Minister Lamola said Africa finds itself in a challenging time, where geo-political conflicts and trade wars imposed by the United States are rife. He said though this may be disheartening, it provides an opportunity for Africa to come together and increase trade amongst itself.
Ronald Lamola took the opportunity to dispel the inaccuracies regarding South Africa’s non-aligned stance. He said non-alignment is not neutrality. It is not a passive watching from the side-lines.
“I know what some will say—that in a world of complex powers, this stance is either naive or a cloak for a hidden agenda. In our country some are calling for the South African government its non-alignment policy and dance to the tune of the US.
But true non-alignment is the active, principled assertion of our right to think for ourselves, and be not just the subject and objects of others’, agendas. Instead, it is the shaping of our own agendas. As the old adage goes, nothing about us without us! While we welcome and are supportive of initiatives by the US and Qatar, among others, we stress the vital need for African initiatives to be recognised and taken seriously. We should ensure that these externally driven initiatives do not clash with the SADC-EAC-AU backed process. Externally driven initiatives must be reinforcing the African initiatives,” said Lamola.
“In our country some have even suggested that we should just dance to the tune of the US due to the impact of the tariffs to our economy, ignoring that the tariffs are not a uniquely South African phenomenon?” he said.
Lamola called on the African Union and the relevant regional bodies to step in to ensure that the guns are silenced on the continent and that there is peace. He said when one economy thrives in Africa, another will thrive as well.
“They ask if we let the butcher buy peace with the lives of his victims. I say to you: the balance between justice and peace is not an equation to be solved, but a difficult tension to be managed. And how do we focus this progressive vision? Through our third and most vital lens: Pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism is the soil in which our freedom grows. It is the unwavering belief that our destinies are linked.
When conflict ravages one nation, it weakens the entire continent. When one economy thrives, it lifts others. We are not 54 separate islands; we are a vast forest. A blight on one tree, if ignored, can consume the whole. The strength of the forest is each individual tree; the strength of each tree is the forest,” said Minister Ronald Lamola.
“South Africa as the Chairperson of the C5 continues to call all the parties in South Sudan to uphold the terms of the revitalised peace agreement. This is the very essence of “African solutions for African problems.” I know this principle is feared by some, who worry it can become a slogan behind which tyrants hide. To them, I say: You have put your finger on our greatest test.
This principle is not a shield for dictators; it is a sword for the people. For as Wole Soyinka reminds us, “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.” It is a call to us—to the African Union, to our regional bodies, to our civil societies—to be the ones who hold our leaders accountable,” he continued.
The South African Minister said a truly effective African Union is the institutional heart of the vision, empowered to mediate, to enforce human rights standards, and to guarantee justice and accountability for all Africans.
“We need to address a phenomenon where countries with no minerals can exploit a conflict in a manner that enables them to be a net exporter of minerals they do not have. The African continent must speak in one voice to ensure that the new scramble for critical minerals must lead to beneficiation at source.
I am aware of the challenges—the bureaucratic mountains and logistical canyons that have hampered the full realisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. To fail in its implementation would be a failure of our very vision. We’ve to increase trade with SADC from the current 21 percent significantly,” said Lamola.
