Pandor warns of ‘scary’ 2026 geopolitical risks, urges corporate sector to step up

Former minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor. Former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, has warned that 2026 could be a far more turbulent year for South Africa and the global economy, urging the corporate sector to step up as geopolitical risks intensify. Wearing her hat as chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation during the Top Employers 2026 gala dinner on Thursday night in Sandton, Pandor spoke about the economic sectors identified by PresidentCyril Ramaphosa, saying they “have significant value and the potential to increase GDP growth, in entrepreneurship and in employment.” In his recentState of the Nation Address, Ramaphosa referred to several areas that hold significant broad-based opportunity for the country, including infrastructure, agriculture, mining, the development of technology and artificial intelligence, green energy resource access, tourism growth and a vibrant public sector.

However, Pandor cautioned that these opportunities are unfolding in “an increasingly complex and crisis-ridden geopolitical environment.” “If we thought last year was bad,” she said, “I think 2026 is going to be even more scary.” Pandor acknowledged that South Africa has built meaningful trade relationships over three decades of democracy, pointing to partners across China, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and North America. “In the 30 years of democracy, we’ve made positive trade gains with all of these regional partners,” she noted. But she expressed concern about tensions with the United States, warning that “recent political developments in the United States of America pose a worrying disruption to our progress.” Ongoing trade impasses, she suggested, threaten to destabilise established economic ties at a time when certainty is urgently needed.

While diplomacy remains the government’s responsibility, Pandor argued that business leaders cannot remain passive observers. “The corporate sector has great potential to use established business networks to encourage the presence of reason and logic in our trade relations,” she said.