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The G20 logo at Imbizo Media Centre in Cape Town, December 3 2024. Picture: BRENTON GEACH/GALLO IMAGES
The G20 logo at Imbizo Media Centre in Cape Town, December 3 2024. Picture: BRENTON GEACH/GALLO IMAGES

SA’s G20 priorities hold promise for Africa and the Global South, but much more is required to bridge the slogan and substance. SA has identified three broad themes for its G20 presidency informed by national, continental and global concerns: solidarity, equality and sustainable development.

SA promises to actively promote African causes and concerns as part of its long-standing “African Agenda” foreign policy. It recognises that its aspirations for prosperity and stability are intricately woven with those of the continent. This year is an opportunity to consolidate the G20’s Africa focus, including reviewing its Africa-orientated initiatives (such as China’s 2016 G20 “Initiative on Supporting Industrialisation in Africa and Least Developed Countries”, and Germany’s 2017 G20 “Compact with Africa”) in partnership with the AU.

A key aspect of such introspection must relate to how the G20 will carry over its engagement with Africa as the G20 shifts back to the Western hemisphere from 2026 onwards.

SA’s G20 presidency is timely, coming a year into the AU’s permanent membership. Continental leaders have hailed the AU’s inclusion into the G20 framework. At an AU ministerial session of African foreign ministers held in 2024 Ethiopian President Taye Atske Selassie (then foreign minister) declared: “AU participation in the G20 will provide us with a unique platform to contribute to global economic governance and decisions. Therefore, we must ensure that Africa’s voice is heard, and our participation is significant.”

For SA’s G20 presidency to have a lasting impact it must focus on human capital development across the continent.

India-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation suggests the AU’s effectiveness in the G20 hinges on presenting a united front among its members to meaningfully influence global decisions.

The question is how effectively leading nations such as Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana and SA co-ordinate the African agenda within the G20. SA and Ethiopia have stressed the importance of South-South co-operation and groupings such as Brics+6. 

SA must foster a collaborative and complementary approach to the African Agenda within the G20 framework. The theme “Solidarity” therefore resonates. Addressing Nigeria’s G20 and Brics+ aspirations is a test case.

Solidarity means strengthened South-South co-operation can occur concomitantly with revitalised North-South co-operation. Donors such as the EU, Japan and the Nordics have traditionally played and continue to play an essential role through investment and development finance. The increasingly fraught international context underscores the need for consolidated North-South co-operation, underpinned by a firm commitment to representative multilateralism.

SA’s G20 leadership is an opportunity to emphasise the importance of global co-operation and effective multilateralism. This requires compromise on the part of the advanced economies concerning key global economic reforms for which SA and the AU (along with Global South partners such as Brazil, India and Indonesia) advocate.

For SA’s G20 presidency to have a lasting impact it must focus on human capital development across the continent. Africa’s key asset is its youth. An educated and skilled young population is vital for long-term economic growth. Resolving unemployment and financial exclusion would be key.

To achieve sustainable development initiatives must urgently address the needs of the unemployed and those in the informal sector, accounting for 22.1% of the Southern African Development Community economy in 2019. In Sub-Saharan Africa eight out of 10 workers are in the informal sector. Initiatives like the G20 Task Force 3, which will focus on AI, data governance and innovation for sustainable development, are essential to fast-track Africa’s industrialisation. 

G20 legacy

SA’s lasting G20 presidency legacy could be the adoption of an AU-endorsed continent-wide programme on human capital development, beneficiation and industrialisation linked to critical minerals. This will include providing financial and technical resources to African policymakers, civil society, academia and youth.

During SA’s G20 presidency it would be prescient for African policymakers and broader civil society to foster greater engagement from the (Pan) African private sector to address human capital challenges effectively. African enterprises across the continent are worth hundreds of billions of dollars in total market capitalisation. The (Pan) African private sector could potentially fund myriad human capital development projects across Africa. The African Development Bank would be a key interlocutor for such initiatives.

SA’s focus on equality and sustainability should facilitate better alignment between current G20 initiatives, like the Compact with Africa, China’s 2016 G20 “Initiative on Supporting Industrialisation in Africa and Least Developed Countries”, and even grassroots poverty reduction programmes, such as the unrealised 2008 Sadc Poverty Reduction Strategy. This would enhance G20 support for localised solutions to economic marginalisation. 

African youths

During the deliberations SA should revive important G20 programmes from Germany’s 2017 presidency, including the G20 Initiative for Rural Youth Employment and the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). Growing small, medium and microenterprises (SMMEs) that provide jobs for millions of African youths would be essential. 

SA’s G20 presidency could see stronger connections between G20 programmes and regional and continental human capital and poverty reduction policies. Africa's prospects are grim without an educated, skilled and dynamic youth. Furthermore, SA’s G20 is an opportunity for Africa’s private sector to make its long-awaited debut, thereby meaningfully locating itself in the continent’s long-term development. 

• Dr Sachikonye is G20 research consultant, and Somya manager of policy, advocacy and stakeholder engagement and senior researcher, at the Southern African Liaison Office. 

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