South Africa is surrounded by 2,798km of shoreline. Yet, oddly, the nation doesn’t have a coherent maritime technique underpinned by a associated nationwide technique to safeguard its maritime pursuits.
This omission was underscored once more not too long ago by an evolving master plan for South Africa’s oceans. The doc is vital as it places the significance of South Africa’s oceans into sharper focus. But this shouldn’t obscure the truth that authorities’s dedication to comprehensively harness the ocean to assist arrest financial decline has been disappointing.
The doc additionally underscores the absence of a coherent and complete coverage. In international locations the place this has been accomplished nicely – similar to New Zealand and Ghana – insurance policies have been developed that embody the financial worth of a nation’s oceans, in addition to the vulnerability they current from a safety standpoint.
There are options.
A 3 step course of would put South Africa’s maritime safety home so as. The first can be to create a well-designed government-led course of that features a high-office physique and core stakeholders. This would lead straight into the second step – the mapping of the nation’s nationwide maritime pursuits in addition to the threats it faces. The third step can be creation of an built-in nationwide maritime technique.
The rising pattern internationally is for international locations to be express about their maritime pursuits and again this with devoted institutional commitments to promote, develop and defend them if required. It’s time South Africa adopted go well with.
What’s lacking
Some efforts have been made at getting a coverage framework in place. The most up-to-date is the Draft Framework on South Africa’s National Interest.
The evolving grasp plan and Operation Phakisa – launched by the nation’s presidency in July 2014 to hasten options to “critical development issues” – stress the vital significance of the oceans financial system to South Africa’s general financial pursuits.
The grasp plan additionally outlines good statistics on the potential contribution the oceans financial system holds for the nation.
But neither of those provides up to an built-in and credible maritime safety plan for the nation. The general image is one among working in silos, seemingly with out coordination.
A latest communiqué from the Southern African Development Community Heads of State meeting within the DR Congo famous that maritime safety of Southern Africa is not what it needs to be and that a regional maritime technique should be applied.
There are examples South Africa may study kind. There are sound methods on maritime safety rising amongst Gulf of Guinea international locations, Kenya within the Horn area, and the emphasis by Seychelles on safety to harness the financial potential of its maritime territories.
Countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Seychelles and Mauritius have made strides.
Beyond Africa, the UK not too long ago launched its national maritime security strategy. For its half, China has turned its consideration to the significance of the oceans in pursuit of its national interests. This ambition options alongside the military buildup in the western Indian Ocean with a deal with the Horn area and southern strands to Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Maldives.
The naval profile unfolds alongside a a lot bigger oceans agenda made up of safety, security, local weather change, practical connectivity, and a thriving blue financial system.
Prioritising South Africa’s maritime pursuits
A primary step is to appoint a high-level entity to oversee maritime affairs in South Africa. A Department of Maritime Affairs is a pretty thought. But a highly effective steering committee reporting to the presidency is in all probability a extra attainable begin.
This follow is rising. New Zealand and Ghana have taken this strategy.
Next there wants to be a detailed mapping of pursuits on present and new domains. An instance is the safety of underwater cable infrastructure – regionally and regionally.
The maritime area has primarily turn out to be too necessary to go away inside a imprecise and broad set of statements like South Africa’s recent framework document. Clearly articulated nationwide pursuits with a maritime underpinning ought to inform an built-in nationwide maritime safety technique.
In my view this is crucial for 3 causes.
First, present plans and paperwork are too imprecise about a credible safety basis for South Africa’s dependence on, and use of, the oceans. This leaves an excessive amount of room for ambiguity about what should be secured.
Second, the absence of a technique inherently forfeits the worth in planning for shifts in maritime pursuits in addition to the dynamic fashionable strategic maritime setting.
A 3rd facet stems from the worth of a maritime safety technique to inform collaboration with regional and worldwide companions (different African international locations). Having a maritime technique presents alternatives for maritime diplomacy – whether or not coercive, cooperative or extra persuasive in type.
South Africa is additionally very express in its overseas coverage about dedication to the Southern African Development Community and Africa. The African Union’s AIMS-2050 and Lomé Charter in addition to Agenda 2063 alongside the UN Sustainable Development Goals have express maritime aims that decision for cooperation. Collectively, these framework paperwork information and count on South Africa to be in line with its personal methods.
The query is: what does South Africa carry to the maritime desk?
Not a nice deal, is the reply. This means it can’t assist and cooperate with larger order African maritime architectures. It seemingly stays up to academia, NGOs, particular person state departments and businesses to play lots of the constructive maritime roles on the worldwide stage.
South Africa comes throughout as being out of contact with maritime safety developments on the continent and past. There is little question that encouraging work is being accomplished on South Africa’s ocean landscapes. This work sadly stems extra from collections of actors in nationwide departments, businesses, NGOs, and academia shining the sunshine on the nation’s vital maritime pursuits.
But this hasn’t been translated into a coherent technique. The final duty rests with the upper echelons of presidency. It is nationwide authorities that should orchestrate the alternatives, actors and beneficiaries that can give expression to Operation Phakisa’s in depth oceans agenda.
Francois Vreÿ, Research Coordinator, Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Stellenbosch University
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