South Africa should consider withdrawing from the ill-fated peace-keeping mission after the loss of 14 of its soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) conflict.
Wars in the Congo have a long and complex history and no regional power, not least one unfamiliar with the terrain, has a solution to speedily resolve this multilayered conflict.
South Africa must avoid being pulled into a vortex of a fluid and fast paced regional war that involves a myriad of known and unknown actors.
The skirmishes in the DRC, which are resurfacing after a decade-long hiatus, have a potential of prompting a Third Congo War, plunging the Great Lakes region into a crisis.
South Africa is arguably not in a position of partaking in such a war and should not be tempted to. Under an African Union mandate, South Africa and other regional players such as Malawi and Tanzania form part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).
With the recent attacks by the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels, which saw the fall of Goma and the claiming of Bukavu, Malawi, a SADC member state, decided to immediately withdraw its troops after three of its soldiers were killed.
But South Africa does not see immediate withdrawal as an option because it appears to be fascinated by the optics and prestige of being seen as a regional hegemon.
Since 1994 South Africa has embraced the idea of being a dominant regional power. The country has participated in numerous foreign missions and other South-South initiatives. These drives have assumed various guises including, diplomatic, military, cultural and economic.
South Africa brokered peace after the Second Congo War, resulting in the Sun City agreement in 2002. But some of South Africa’s interventions on the continent — case in point Central African Republic — have been disastrous. Yet the country continued its involvement in conflicts, including sending a mission in Mozambique.
Other SADC member states such as Botswana partook in the Mozambique campaign but when they encountered financial constraints quickly withdrew.
South Africa’s presumption of being a regional superpower is problematic. The government appears not to have considered its poor domestic record in addressing historical injustices and deterioration of its infrastructure. The country should confront its floundering economy, tackle structural poverty, inequality and refractory unemployment.
South Africa’s forays in the region have hinged on disbursing declining resources, including the military budget. There should be a moratorium on the deployment of troops in the DRC or in any other conflict.
The country can continue to participate in diplomatic and humanitarian processes to help resolve the DRC conflict. Other SADC member states, the East African Community and the African Union should lead the mediation process.
Being a regional hegemon is not premised on economic might and military capabilities alone, it is also about ideas. South Africa is yet to prove its ideational prowess. As for now, the country is not exporting any formidable, stimulating and enduring ideas.
Dr Mabutho Shangase is a senior lecturer in political studies and international relations at North-West University. @nativconscience