South Africa’s G20 Presidency: A New Hope for Addressing Poverty and Inequality
As the global economy grapples with challenges like inflation, climate change, and inequality, all eyes turn to South Africa as it prepares to take over the G20 presidency from Brazil on December 2, 2024. This marks a historic moment, as South Africa becomes the first African nation to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit, offering a unique opportunity to place the concerns of the African continent and developing nations at the forefront of the global agenda.
President Cyril Ramaphosa faces the formidable task of steering the G20 towards addressing pressing issues such as poverty eradication and reducing inequality. With South Africa navigating serious economic challenges, including one of the world’s highest wealth gaps and persistent unemployment, the presidency provides a platform to advocate for policies that can bring about substantial change both domestically and internationally.
The eradication of poverty remains a central focus for South Africa, where many people still lack access to basic services like adequate healthcare, quality education, and employment opportunities. Historically, the G20 has faced criticism for not sufficiently addressing the needs of developing countries. South Africa’s leadership could alter this narrative by implementing initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive growth and sustainable development.
At the recent summit in Brazil, China reiterated calls to end global hunger and alleviate poverty, urging G20 leaders to look beyond temporary setbacks and embrace a vision of the world as a shared community with collective responsibilities. The establishment of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty serves as a pivotal step toward fostering unity and collaborative efforts among nations.
China emphasized the importance of channeling resources into trade, investment, and development efforts, encouraging the dismantling of barriers that hinder cooperation. Additionally, China advocated for enhanced support for developing nations in adopting sustainable practices while simultaneously tackling pressing issues such as climate change and environmental degradation.
In an insightful conversation with Laura Carvalho, a renowned Brazilian economist and associate professor of economics at the University of São Paulo, she highlighted the significance of South Africa’s upcoming G20 presidency. “When South Africa takes the presidency of the G20, Global South leadership will be at the core, offering an opportunity to put pressing issues for developing countries on the agenda,” Carvalho noted.
She emphasized that South Africa’s presidency comes at a challenging time marked by political shifts among G20 members. “National interests under the guise of national security are playing out on different fronts, including energy, trade, supply chain regulation, technology, and strategic minerals. South Africa has an opportunity to push a progressive agenda that goes beyond the usual finance conversations,” she explained.
South Africa has expressed its intention to pursue topics related to just energy transition and better governance of resources, particularly critical minerals. The focus on inclusive growth aims to unify fragmented conversations currently happening on global crises, including climate change, growing inequality, and poverty.
Reflecting on Brazil’s experience, Carvalho pointed out that Brazil succeeded in bringing inequalities within and between countries to the core of the G20 agenda. Despite a difficult geopolitical context, it managed to negotiate commitments from all G20 countries to effectively tax ultra-high-net-worth individuals, agree on a concrete roadmap for reforming multilateral development banks to increase concessional lending to developing countries, and get 82 countries to join the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.
“On climate, the G20 declaration went beyond the standard call for climate action, committing to support developing countries in their ambitious green industrial planning and strategies, and to better integrate into global industrial, value, and supply chains,” she added. “While not enforceable, these statements open up room for advancing these agendas in other multilateral fora and put pressure on policymakers at the national level.”
The G20 offers a platform to set the agenda, convene influential players, and drive ambitious outcomes. South Africa’s presidency is an opportunity to continue the work begun by Brazil and ensure that issues like hunger and poverty remain at the forefront. When President Ramaphosa launches South Africa’s G20 presidency in December, the focus must be on finding long-term and sustainable solutions to poverty and addressing systemic challenges within the G20 framework.
Critical areas for attention include better financing, debt relief, establishing a fair trading system, and fostering cooperation around technology, agriculture, and food systems. By prioritizing the eradication of poverty and ensuring that no one is left behind, South Africa can contribute significantly to the pursuit of a shared future for all humanity, promoting peace, security, prosperity, and stability.
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S. Africa's G20 presidency: A chance to address poverty, inequality
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