Africans Striving for Beneficial Partnership Over Charity, SA Municipal Official Says

Russian business sees South Africa as an equal partner, instead of looking down on it in cooperation, Lungelo Buthelezi, Project Executive eThekwini Municipality, told Sputnik Africa on the sidelines of the International Municipal BRICS Forum in Moscow.

"As African people, where we want to be seen as partners as opposed to be seen as beggars," he explained.

South Africa has a lot to offer its partners, and whoever engages with it "should be engaging at a partner level as opposed to a master-servant kind of setup, not insinuating anything," he added.

"I have found that with every Russian businessperson that I have engaged with, they've really seen us as partners as opposed to one being superior to the other," Buthelezi noted.

The relations between South Africa and Russia are win-win, since both have a lot of benefits for each other.

"Russia has a lot to offer and things that we really need and offer them at a cheaper price. We're talking about oil, we're talking about gas and a whole lot of other industries that could come and establish themselves in our city. So the question was why choose Russia is because it makes sense; it makes business sense; it makes social sense; it also makes political sense," the project executive highlighted.

Another point conducive to fruitful cooperation, from Buthelezi's point of view, is the South African young population.

"That's what the stats are saying. We're offering that youthful vigor. We're offering that young mind to the world and saying here are the people of the future, people of the future that could have resources of all kinds, people of the future who have energy, people of the future that have been through a lot, and they're still achieving tops," the official underlined.

Therefore, the Western propaganda that prevails in South Africa and on the African continent is an obstacle for bilateral ties, as there are a lot of stereotypes.

"I think lately people have seen what propaganda can do to every civilization. How Africans have been portrayed in the media in general and perhaps our media, also Western, I am not sure, is very dangerous. The impact it has had is pitting people against each other, as opposed to uniting people. Whenever there is a descending voice to the mainstream media, they simply come and crush that, and it is very unfortunate," Buthelezi said.

According to him, hereof, the BRICS bloc has huge potential, as young people can travel from South Africa and study in Russian universities and live and learn from Russians.

"We know very well that Russia is one of the countries that is doing things in space, and that requires scientific knowledge. Russia is one of those countries who are leaders in medicine and Russia proved itself well in organic foods, so you can see there's a lot that we can learn from Russia. [...] I'm seeing a lot of interest in universities from here wanting to collaborate with universities in South Africa," the official noted.

Such collaboration "that puts people first that is going to make sure that whatever is developed is for the greater good of the planet," Buthelezi underlined.

"It is not going to be a competition, but it's going to be what can put us forward as a species of human beings, and it's a very good mix that is happening in the BRICS countries, because it is not a development that is military-driven, but it's a development that says what can we do different and what we need to do to help those who have been struggling for such a long time," he concluded.