President Cyril Ramaphosa warned BRICS member states in New Delhi on Friday, 11 September 2026, that the bloc must not follow the old economic pattern of Africa supplying raw minerals while manufacturing and value addition happen elsewhere. He was addressing the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue a day before the 18th BRICS Summit, which India is hosting on 12 and 13 September under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, according to the South African Presidency’s official record of the address dated 11 September 2026.
The warning was first reported by the Mail & Guardian, which has reporters covering the summit in the Indian capital. The Presidency’s published remarks say about 120 South African companies took part in the forum, while the Mail & Guardian reported that around 130 South African business leaders travelled to India; the discrepancy appears to be between company delegations and individual delegates and remains unconfirmed.
“We cannot accept a future where Africa supplies the minerals on which the next generation of industries depends, while value addition and manufacturing take place elsewhere.”
Ramaphosa said developing economies have for too long participated in global value chains mainly as suppliers of raw commodities. He called for investment to be directed towards manufacturing, mineral beneficiation, industrial technologies, energy systems, infrastructure and logistics.
“Companies must invest not only to access markets but to establish production facilities and develop local capabilities.”
The intervention comes after India and the Southern African Customs Union, which includes South Africa, revived negotiations for a preferential trade agreement in August 2026. India exported goods worth about $7.5 billion to the five-member SACU in the 2025-26 financial year and imported about $9.2 billion, mainly from South Africa, according to the Mail & Guardian.
On Saturday, 12 September 2026, an India-South Africa Business Leadership Roundtable is scheduled to focus on pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, critical minerals and the electric-vehicle battery value chain. Ramaphosa’s call aligns with South Africa’s stated aim of moving beyond raw commodity exports into higher-value production in those sectors.
For South African workers and manufacturers, the direction of BRICS investment helps determine whether the country remains mainly a supplier of lithium, manganese, platinum and other minerals or builds local processing, jobs and technology around them. The 18th BRICS Summit provides the first test of whether the bloc will back that shift with capital.
It remains unclear what binding investment commitments will emerge from the summit. Cape Flats News will check for announcements after the roundtable concludes on Saturday, 12 September 2026.