Des Erasmus
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola told Southern African ministers on Thursday that the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran risked driving up fuel and food costs and worsening debt pressure across the region.
Opening a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers in Pretoria, Lamola said the region was being hit by external shocks at a time when its economies were still recovering from the COVID pandemic and fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war.
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“The current geopolitical climate, including the United States and Israel’s war on Iran and Iran’s retaliation, is already sending shockwaves through our societies,” he said. “Beyond the immediate impact of rising global oil prices, a spike in fertiliser costs is set to drive food prices up and further compromise food security across many of our countries.
“As a community, we will not emerge unscathed from this. Our public finances are likely to come under even greater strain, and it is our people who will bear the cost,” he said.
The address also gave Pretoria a distinctly political foreign policy stage at a particularly sensitive moment in its already strained relationship with Washington.
On Wednesday, Lamola said Pretoria had called in newly-arrived US ambassador Brent Bozell III to explain comments that breached diplomatic protocol.
At a BizNewse investment seminar earlier this week, Bozell criticised South Africa’s ties with Iran, race-based redress laws and a court ruling on the Kill the Boer chant.
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Lamola said the envoy had been asked to explain his “undiplomatic remarks,” while DIRCO director-general Zane Dangor said Bozell had apologised and expressed regret.
Lamola also used Wednesday’s media briefing to directly condemn Washington’s role in the Middle East conflict, saying: “South Africa reiterates its condemnation for the violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter by the United States and Israel.”
He added that Iran’s response had also violated international law and breached the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Gulf states.
That criticism carried into Thursday’s SADC address. He said Gulf states might now redirect capital away from overseas infrastructure, energy, technology and mineral investments as security concerns intensify at home, with possible consequences for growth and development finance in the region.
“Our region is facing these external shocks while already carrying a heavy debt burden,” Lamola said.
Referencing the African Leaders’ Debt Relief Initiative, he said that the continent was living through “the worst debt crisis in 80 years”, adding that more than 750 million Africans live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than health or education.
His remarks come as Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday the country’s economy grew only 1.1% in 2025, below forecasts from both the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury.
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Lamola told the ministers the worsening international environment made regional cooperation more urgent, not less.
“Citizens across Southern Africa expect regional cooperation to make a tangible difference to livelihoods, jobs, food security, energy access and resilience,” he said.