Putin’s visit is a red flag for sanctions

The whole of the Western world: South Africa, you should arrest Vladimir Putin under the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant when he arrives in your country for the Brics summit in August.

South Africa: Noted. We will give him diplomatic immunity for his visit.

That is not only giving the metaphorical finger to the countries who make up more than half of the world’s gross domestic product and are also major trading partners of ours, but it brings the possibility of international sanctions against us that much closer.

ALSO READ: Reserve Bank warns sanctions could threaten financial stability

That is exactly what the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) was concerned about this week, when it identified the possibility of sanctions by the West as a major negative for the country’s economy.

Now, while it is true that our major trading partner at the moment is China – and there are those who say “To hell with the West!” – the reality is that financial sanctions could torpedo our economy.

That’s because most international trade is denominated in US dollars or euros … and there is little that our allies in Brics could do to pull us out of the potentially ruinous hole of exclusion from the major payment systems.

ALSO READ: Government ‘leading SA to economic suicide’ by siding with Russia

Even now that we are moving closer to Russia – and to pariah status in the eyes of many in the West – it would be a drastic step to exclude South Africa from those monetary mechanisms.

Yet, Sarb believes the threat cannot be ignored. If that does happen, our ongoing implosion will accelerate by orders of magnitude and our rand could soon start to resemble the Zimbabwe dollar, which is almost worthless in terms of real currencies.

Yet, for our ANC masters, loyalty is something you put above the welfare of your people. We shouldn’t be surprised, because when it comes to ANC priorities, ordinary people don’t make it on to the list.

ALSO READ: SA faces legal bid to force Putin’s arrest