South Africa to prioritize needs of Africa, Global South during G20 presidency, says Ramaphosa

By Hassan Isilow

South Africa’s president said Monday when his country assumes the presidency of the G20 later this year, it will prioritize the needs and aspirations of Africa and the Global South.

‘‘As a signatory to the Pact for the Future, we want people-driven, sustainable development to become a reality,’’ Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly newsletter on Monday.

The Pact for the Future commits member states to strengthen multilateral action towards a new agenda for peace.

Ramaphosa also reflected on his country’s position at last week’s UN General Assembly in New York where he reiterated that sustainable development can only be achieved when it is being driven by inclusive, responsive and agile multilateral institutions.

He said: "This means that bodies like the United Nations and financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund need to be fundamentally reformed."

Ramaphosa gave an example of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he says exposed the serious shortcomings of the international financial architecture.

‘‘Low income countries struggled to get financial and other forms of assistance from multilateral institutions to support their pandemic response,’’ he said.

Ramaphosa said the difficult lending requirements and overly bureaucratic systems meant that many poorer countries were unable to get help when they needed it most.

"Similarly, developing economy countries also struggled to get the funds they need, at sufficient scale, to respond to climate change and its impact. This is largely because the northern hemisphere countries that are largely responsible for the damage to the climate have not met the commitments they made at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015," the South African leader said.

Ramaphosa said many countries in Africa and the Global South are facing the high cost of servicing their debt which is diverting much-needed funds for development.

He called for reforms to the UN Security Council, saying: ‘‘At a time when the threats to international peace and security are many and complex, we can no longer place the world’s security in the hands of a few major powers when all countries are affected."

Ramaphosa further said the current approach to world peace is unjust, unfair and unsustainable, adding: "The UN Security Council must therefore be more representative of the current membership of the United Nations."