Since the financial crisis of 2008 loans from banks have become more difficult to obtain. African countries increasingly have explored alternatives to raise capital for their economic development projects.
Australian policymakers face competing economic and strategic priorities. Increasingly, Australia’s economic future is closely tied to relations with its East Asian neighbours.
South Africa’s foreign policy has developed since the country’s transition to democracy in 1994. The South African government used to emphasise multilateralism as an important component in its international relations, keen to make itself heard on critical global issues.
The Sharpeville Massacre is deeply engrained in the pages of South African history. The events of 21 March 1960 are now commemorated on Human Rights Day.
After a ‘gloom and doom’ Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement in October last year, it was hoped that Finance Minister Nene’s recent Budget Speech would allay concerns that South Africa’s public finances are in dire straits.
Policymakers in Pretoria, Nairobi and Maseru are holding their breath as the latest renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) makes its way through the partisan gridlock of the US congress. AGOA offers duty free access to the richest market on the planet on 1800 tariff lines, generates over 62,000 jobs in South Africa alone, and sustains apparel industries in countries such as Lesotho and Mauritius.
Mexico has the economic resources to be considered an emerging power, but it has shown little capacity or initiative to exercise its potential as a regional leader – either economically or politically.
Financial inclusion is central to economic empowerment in rural communities, as it forms the foundation for the sustainable economic development of the less privileged in society. By engaging in economic activities where goods and services are traded for cash, people become part of economic clusters.
Recent events confirm that South Africa’s perceived receptiveness towards foreign direct investment (FDI) is declining. Consequently some foreigners are disillusioned, and look to better growth prospects elsewhere in Africa.
Membership of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which stands at 35 of the 54 states of the AU, is based on voluntary accession.
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