As Heads of State of the BRICS grouping prepare to meet in Durban this week, international agencies have been debating the role of BRICS in Africa’s development.

BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The first BRIC Summit took place in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where the elected leaders of the four countries formally declared the membership of the BRIC economic bloc. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, resulting in BRICS. This is the first time the meeting is being held in Africa.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency and Oxfam under the auspices of the Africa Platform for Development Effectiveness (APDev) hosted a Public Policy Dialogue ahead of the BRICS Summit to share knowledge and debate issues related to development cooperation between BRIC S countries.

Panellists at the Dialogue who included South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Development Marius Fransman, debated Aid Effectiveness and South-South Cooperation based on the Africa consensus position on development effectiveness, known as the Busan Outcome.

Mr Fransman, above, said the debate on role of BRICS in Africa comes at a time when fundamental issues on Africa’s development are under perspective. The DIRCO Deputy-Minister commended the important role that NEPAD and the African Union have been playing in supporting processes that enable growth and stability on the Continent.

The Head of NEPAD’s Capacity Development Florence Nazare stated that in the second decade of NEPAD Africans would like to see more regulatory approaches to systems that the continent is pushing for developmental growth. “Africa owes it to itself to define what models of development it wants to pursue. Emphasis has to be on domestic resource mobilisation.

The dialogue also provided a platform to move beyond the limitations of bilateral discussions and focus on the broader relationship and issues around the BRICS countries relationship with Africa, including mechanisms for greater transparency and accountability of development assistance extended by BRICS to African states

Trade between the BRICS has leapt from just US$38 billion in 2003 to approximately US$220 billion in 2010. BRICS’ companies account for one out of every seven US Dollar invested overseas. The rapid change in national and global contexts has relevance for global governance issues, but also for regional dynamics, in regions dominated by these emerging powers.

Representatives from the BRICS counties are expected to announce the creation of a common development bank at the end of the Summit on March 27. The planned BRICS Development Bank will focus on financing infrastructure development projects, and providing auxiliary support for project preparation such as feasibility studies. 

Professor Liu Haifang, of the Centre for African Studies at the University of Peking said the BRICS Bank will provide an opportunity for African economies to develop. Responding to a question from the audience on why China brings along low-skilled workers to Africa, who in turn take up local jobs, Ms Haifang said China was also a developing country with many in the rural areas who required skills and job.

“However, the situation is getting better now because the number of people requiring this level of labour diminishing” said Ms Haifang.

The Dialogue offered robust debate and discourse on Africa’s development Agenda and the role the BRICS block can play. Mr Pranay Sinha, an expert on development aid and South-South Cooperation from India, emphasised that some of the values of the BRICS countries are fundamental in that they address the governance deficit in Africa. This aspect he emphasised is key to economic and social development.