JOHANNESBURG — Chairman of MTN Group, Mcebisi Jonas, has called on African countries to use the continent’s vast mineral resources and rapidly growing consumer market as strategic leverage as the global balance of economic and political power shifts towards a multipolar system.
Jonas said Africa was uniquely positioned to strengthen its role in the global economy because of its abundance of critical minerals and its large, young and expanding population.
He made the call on Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa, while speaking on Africa’s geopolitical and economic outlook and the need for stronger integration across the continent.
According to him, Africa has two major sources of bargaining power: its mineral wealth and its demographic strength.
“The continent has two major levers,” Jonas said, referring to the continent’s critical mineral deposits and its growing population.
Africa is home to substantial deposits of minerals that are increasingly important to global technology, manufacturing and the transition to cleaner energy. These include manganese, platinum, copper and cobalt.
South Africa is a major producer of platinum-group metals and manganese, while countries such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo play significant roles in the global supply of copper and cobalt.
Jonas said Africa’s growing population was equally important because it would create a large and expanding market for goods, services, technology and investment.
He, however, warned that Africa could lose the economic advantage offered by its resources and market if individual countries continued to negotiate separately with foreign governments and investors.
“If they go country-by-country and cut deals, you lose your leverage immediately,” he said.
The MTN chairman therefore urged African governments to coordinate their economic interests and negotiate collectively through regional and continental institutions.
He said a united approach would strengthen Africa’s bargaining position when dealing with major global economic powers and companies seeking access to the continent’s resources and markets.
His comments come amid growing international competition for critical minerals, which are essential to the production of electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, semiconductors, advanced technologies and other industrial products.
The increasing demand for these minerals presents an opportunity for African countries to move beyond the export of raw materials and develop industries capable of processing resources locally.
Jonas said greater investment in mineral processing, manufacturing and industrial development could allow African economies to retain more value from their natural resources, while creating jobs and expanding economic opportunities.
He stressed, however, that natural resources alone would not be enough to transform the continent’s economic position.
According to him, Africa needs stronger institutions, better leadership, quality education, research capacity and effective policymaking to understand global economic developments and negotiate from a position of strength.
“We need different governments. We need different leaders,” he said, stressing the need for African leaders to recognise the advantages of collective action.
Jonas also linked Africa’s economic opportunity to the changing structure of global power.
He noted that the world had moved from the bipolar rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union to a period of US-led unipolarity following the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
According to him, the international system is now moving towards a multipolar arrangement, with economic and political influence increasingly spread across several centres of power, including the United States, China, Europe and emerging powers in the Middle East.
He said the changing global order could provide Africa with greater room to negotiate with competing powers and secure better economic terms, provided the continent developed the capacity to act collectively.
Jonas warned that Africa could not take advantage of the emerging opportunities without strengthening its intellectual and institutional capacity.
“If the intellectual capacity of the continent is reduced, we are not going to be able to benefit from the possible wealth that we have,” he said.
He also called for a stronger sense of continental identity among Africans, saying national interests should not prevent countries from pursuing economic objectives that could benefit the wider continent.
Jonas urged African leaders, professionals and policymakers to look beyond individual national interests and develop stronger networks and partnerships across the continent.
He said Africa’s real opportunity was not simply in possessing critical minerals or having one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, but in converting those assets into genuine bargaining power, investment, employment, industrial capacity and sustainable economic growth.
