BRICS SUMMIT UPDATES | SA’s role as host of the Brics summit is fraught with dangers

22 August 2023 - 09:21

Brazil finance minister: tax reform will be finalised this year

Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Tuesday at the first day of a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies that a tax reform that will restructure Brazil's complex consumption taxes will be finalised this year.

The reform, previously attempted by various administrations without success, is a key step in President Luiz Inacio Lula's plan to boost economic growth.

-Reuters

22 August 2023 - 07:05

What to expect from China’s state visit to South Africa

The South African and Chinese flags will by flying high at the Union Buildings as President Cyril Ramaphosa hosts President Xi Jinping on a state visit to Pretoria on Tuesday.

It will be the usual pomp and ceremony with Xi inspecting the guard of honour before going into a bilateral meeting with Ramaphosa and some members of his cabinet behind closed doors. Like all heads of state, Xi will also be respected with a 21-gun salute by the South African National Defence Force.

The visit is taking place ahead of the much-anticipated 15th Brics summit from Tuesday until Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre where about 40 world leaders will come together to discuss economical and geopolitical matters. 

21 August 2023 - 20:43

TOM EATON | Ramaphosa has been building up to this week Brics by Brics

Those South Africans who still don’t see the point of belonging to the BRICs grouping were presented with a stunningly compelling argument on Monday, as Eskom’s fleet of power stations magically healed itself at the very moment the first delegates set foot in the country for this week’s summit.

Admittedly, the respite was temporary, with the morning’s mysteriously improved generating capacity suddenly falling away in the afternoon again; but this was obviously because the delegates had had long flights and needed to have a nap, and as anyone will tell you, not even the most powerful BRICs wizards can keep power stations running in their sleep.

21 August 2023 - 20:34

SA’s role as host of the Brics summit is fraught with dangers

South Africa is hosting the Brics summit this week.

In June, The Conversation published this article. At the time, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who had been indicted by the International Criminal Court, had indicated that he would attend the summit. After much deliberation, he announced last month that he would no longer be attending the summit but would do so virtually.

South Africa had the possibility of facing the wrath of its Brics partners if it had fulfilled its international obligation and arrests him. On the other hand, if it had not arrested him, it could have faced sanctions from those countries that want to see Putin tried for war crimes.

21 August 2023 - 17:31

SA to use Brics summit to push for own-currency trade

South Africa, which is hosting the 15th Brics summit in Johannesburg this week, will use the gathering to push for Brics countries to use their own currencies when trading with one another as a mechanism to push for the reform of global political and financial institutions.

This is not a new agenda but a continuation of previous Brics declarations and initiatives. For example, the Brics New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement were established in 2014 to provide alternative sources of financing and liquidity for Brics countries and other emerging economies.

But it is a call that has long been ignored by world superpowers, including the US, UK, France and Germany, who play a dominant role in global governance institutions such as the UN Security Council, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

21 August 2023 - 12:49

CINDY PEREIRA | In India and Brics South Africa can find hope and growth

As global divisions deepen, India’s economic might and its friendship with South Africa can galvanise Brics as a pillar of the emerging multipolar order when these countries and their allies meet in Johannesburg.

The bloc of developing economies has become more vital amid deteriorating relations between Russia and the Nato powers over Ukraine. In these unsettled times, India and South Africa have a unique relationship that can help steer Brics in promoting global stability and equitable growth.