Jaya Josie, an adviser at China Africa Center Zhejiang University International Business School and an adjunct professor at University of the Western Cape and University of Venda
It was a very intense period in the history of South Africa. Today the South African cabinet has undergone dramatic change with the creation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) because the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), did not win a clear majority and was obliged to accommodate the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and other smaller parties in the GNU. Mr Ronald Lamola has been appointed the new minister of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) , he was the youngest minister appointed to President Ramaphosa’s cabinet as Minister of Justice and Correctional Service in 2019.
Minister Lamola was born in 1983 in Bushbuckridge in the Limpopo Province not very far from Thoyondou where the University of Venda (UniVen) is located.
The Limpopo province has an ancient connection with China. In the early part of the twentieth century archaeologists discovered the ancient ruins of the Mapungubwe UNESCO World Heritage site there where they also discovered gold artefacts and porcelain and ceramic goods from China and the middle east.
Bushbuckridge is not far from Mozambique and the ancient port of Sofala on the East Coast of Africa where history has recorded trading with the great Chinese admiral, He Sheng during his many voyages in the Indian Ocean. During the visit of the delegation from China in August 2023, Minister of Trade, Mr Ebrahim Patel, took the business delegation to a visit to Pretoria where the artefacts from Mapungubwe are kept.
Perhaps Minister Lamola is destined to be the one who will once again take China South Africa international relations to a new era of cooperation trade and investment.
Minister Lamola’s tenure at the helm of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation is expected to be a continuation of the South African government’s policy of promoting peaceful co-existence and a steadfast stand against all forms of colonialism and the right of people to self-determination. During the International Court of Justice (ICJ) hearing into the case of Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza in January 2024 Minister Lamola led the arguments for South Africa as the country’s Minister of Justice.
In this he was ably supported by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor. At the ICJ hearing also China joined South Africa’s case in calling the attack in the Gaza tantamount to genocide and declaring that the people of Palestine had a right to seek self-determination through armed struggle. China was the only member of the UN Security Council to support South Africa’s case at the UN.
Throughout his life minister Lamola has been a consistent and persistent fighter and activist in the struggle for justice, freedom and independence in South Africa. He is expected to carry the same commitment into his new portfolio.
During the 1980s, the turbulent years of apartheid oppression and at the young age of 13, he joined the ANC Youth League and was Deputy President of the ANC’s Youth League. After secondary school he enrolled for a law degree at UniVen where he soon became the President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) and the chairperson of the ANC aligned, South African Students Congress in Limpopo. He completed his practical legal training in 2006, and a post-graduate diploma in corporate law from the University of South Africa in 2008. He subsequently obtained a post-graduate certificate in banking law and financial markets.
Minister Lamola continued his studies in law acquiring a Masters in Law (LLM) from the University of Pretoria specialising in Corporate Law. He currently holds two master’s degrees from the University of Pretoria. His career included legal practice and local government management. He was also the Director responsible for Culture, Sports and Recreation from 2009 to 2011 in the Office of the MEC of Mpumalanga Province.
At the 55th ANC National Conference in 2022 he was elected to its National Executive Committee (NEC) and re-elected to its National Working Committee (NWC) in 2023. With such an illustrious career it is no wonder that Minister Lamola has rapidly become the new Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.
Minister Lamola is expected to continue with the policy that was so effectively pursued by his predecessor Dr Naledi Pandor. He has the expertise, the experience and the integrity both domestically and internationally to consolidate South Africa’s standing nationally and abroad at a time when the world is undergoing seismic global shifts.
His commitment to the principle of peaceful co-existence, cooperation and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations will hold him in good stead for South Africa’s international relations with China, Africa and the Middle East and in the BRICS+ group of countries.