COVID-19's impact on South Africa's relations with Africa

South Africa demonstrated strong leadership as AU chair by coordinating a continental response to COVID-19, including the establishment of regional task forces and a medical supplies platform. However, this soft power is undermined by persistent institutionalised xenophobia and a 'South Africans first' political discourse that marginalises African migrants. The author argues that domestic treatment of African nationals is a critical indicator of South Africa's leadership potential and warns that economic instability and corruption further exacerbate these internal cleavages.

• South Africa's leadership of the African Union (AU) during the pandemic was characterized by effective multilateral coordination, including the creation of regional task forces across five main regions and the establishment of a COVID-19 Response Fund that initially secured $12 million.
• Under South Africa's AU chairmanship, an innovative procurement platform was launched by mid-June 2020 to manage medical test kits and protective equipment for the entire continent.
• The pandemic has provided a pretext for some African governments to restrict civil liberties and suppress political opposition, with notable increases in state-led violence in Zimbabwe and warning signs in eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Algeria, and Tunisia.
• Institutionalised xenophobia in South Africa threatens the country's soft power and continental leadership, as African migrants face continued victimisation and violence, exacerbated by poverty and hunger during the pandemic.
• Recent government actions indicate a shifting, more restrictive tone toward foreigners, including the construction of a 40-kilometre-long fence along the border with Zimbabwe in April 2020 at a cost of nearly ZAR 17 million, and the emergence of a 'South Africans first' discourse in policy.
• The South African government initially excluded refugees and asylum seekers from a ZAR 350 COVID-19 grant, a policy that the Pretoria High Court ruled unconstitutional on 18 June 2020.
• Domestic corruption and 'state capture' have severely weakened South Africa's internal stability, with some estimates suggesting that corruption has wiped out nearly one third of the country's GDP, totaling ZAR 1.5 trillion.

APA

Lalbahadur, A. (2020). COVID-19's impact on South Africa's relations with Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19s-impact-on-south-africas-relations-with-africa/

Chicago

Lalbahadur, Aditi. COVID-19's impact on South Africa's relations with Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19s-impact-on-south-africas-relations-with-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lalbahadur |first1=Aditi |title=COVID-19's impact on South Africa's relations with Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2 October 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19s-impact-on-south-africas-relations-with-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lalbahadur2020covid19s, author = {Lalbahadur, Aditi}, title = {{COVID-19's impact on South Africa's relations with Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-19s-impact-on-south-africas-relations-with-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }