South Africa would be best advised to throw its hat in with the likes of Brazil when it comes to Brics, says Francois Fouche, an economist at the Centre for African Management and Markets at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).South Africa’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a sore point for the world’s superpowers. The country was one of only 35 nations that abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories. The resolution got the thumbs up from 143 of the 193 member states.“Foreign policy in many countries is closely linked with investment and trade policies, and therefore housed in the same ministry,” explained Fouche. “In South Africa, however, the two departments have long been divorced and disconnected. We have, however, far more to gain at the moment from a trade and investment perspective if we align ourselves with the likes of Brazil in our Brics forum rather than with Russia.”Fouche said that despite being a Brics member, Brazil had voted against Russia at the UN.The next Brics forum is set to take place in Johannesburg in August this year. One of the topics for discussion will be creating a Brics currency. This comes in the wake of increased calls by South Africa's minister of international relations and cooperation, Naledi Pandor, for a move away from the dollar.Economists, however, have remained sceptical about the idea and its impact on the dollar overall.The ongoing surge in cargo volume, combined with labour and equipment shortages, has led to significant delays in the supply chain.– Mark Naidoo
