South African government responsible for AGOA crisis – Lex Libertas

Lex Libertas holds the South African government responsible for the reported decision by the United States to exclude South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

The South African government knew that this was a possibility. President Cyril Ramaphosa even warned that the country should prepare for the consequences. Yet the government failed to take reasonable steps to prevent this outcome.

These steps included addressing American concerns about incitement to violence against minorities, protecting property rights and promoting free-market policies. Instead, the government continued to prioritise its political ideology over the economic interests of the citizens of South Africa.

“This is shameful. The government anticipated the consequences of its decisions but chose not to address their causes,” said Dr Ernst Alex Roets, Executive Director of Lex Libertas.

According to Lex Libertas, the AGOA crisis illustrates a deeper structural problem: South Africa’s highly centralised political system has become detached from realities at community level and shields those in power from the consequences of their decisions.

“A political system in which ideological commitments consistently outweigh the interests of the people it governs, and in which political leaders are not held accountable for the consequences, is not sustainable. South Africa needs fundamental constitutional reform based on decentralisation and self-governance,” Roets concluded.