Ramaphosa steps into the G20 spotlight

South Africa will use its G20 presidency to advance the cause of Africa and the Global South, President Cyril Ramaphosa said last week. SA assumed the G20 presidency last Sunday, taking over the baton from Brazil. News24 reports that Ramaphosa noted that the G20 comprised many of the world's largest developing and developed economies, and was established to tackle pressing global economic and financial issues, accounting for around 85% of global GDP and 75% of international trade. ‘The grouping therefore plays a critical role in influencing global policy making and fostering global economic stability,’ he said. ‘Decisions taken by the G20 have a direct impact on the lives of all members of the global community.’ BusinessTech reports that the UN said ‘SA’s leadership of this group presents a unique opportunity to shape global policies and advocate for Africa’s interests on the world stage’. He said SA's G20 presidency was taking place at a moment in which the world was facing severe challenges. ‘The outlook for global economic growth remains subdued, and many economies carry the burden of unsustainable levels of debt. Geopolitical instability, conflict and war are causing further hardship and suffering.’

News24 reports that he said all countries were working to achieve more rapid, inclusive and economic growth. And a just and equal world, and a world in which poverty and hunger were eradicated. The Mail & Guardian reports that he said SA aims to prioritise Africa’s needs during its presidency of the G20, with a primary focus on addressing climate change to foster global economic growth and sustainable development. ‘We all seek to avert the worst effects of climate change and to preserve our planet for future generations. The G20 provides us with a platform to pursue these collective goals.’ The World Meteorological Organisation has said that Africa bears an increasingly heavy burden because of climate change and disproportionately high costs for essential adaptation. On average, African countries are losing 2% to 5% of GDP and many are diverting up to 9% of their budgets towards responding to climate extremes. ‘The increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is affecting countries around the world, with a devastating impact on those countries that cannot afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding,’ Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa will bolster the potential of his G20 presidency with a 19-member team of top economic advisers. Appointed to his Presidential Economic Advisory Council, they were drawn from business and the global academies and show a bias towards employment-linked growth strategies. In a Daily Maverick analysis, Ferial Haffajee and Righard Kapp note that this is positive development in a country with the highest unemployment rate in the G20. ‘Ramaphosa chairs the council, with Dr Renosi Mokate as his deputy. Mokate has previously held the roles of chairperson of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund and Deputy Reserve Bank Governor, among many other leading roles. Ramaphosa has looked around the world for leading thinkers. Professor Esther Duflo won the 2019 Nobel Prize (with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer), and Professor Mariana Mazzucato is an exciting thinker on innovation in the state as a driver of growth. She also chairs the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All – her advice on what SA does with the contested National Health Insurance initiative will be seriously taken on board. Dr Vera Songwe is a former UN Under Secretary-General and executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Professor Dani Rodrik is an SA favourite for his work on industrial policy-driven growth as a vector for better employment. (It has yet to work, but Ramaphosa and his Cabinet remain adherents to the model.) Dr Antonio Andreoni will be an excellent sounding board on the headway SA is finally making towards energy transition. Another former Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo, has been drafted on to the council, as have chief economists Zeph Nhleko (Development Bank), Wandile Sihlobo (Agricultural Business Chamber and a leading thinker on land reform) and Isaah Mhlanga (RMB).’ The authors note that it’s an exciting and significant council, ‘but its impact, especially in SA’s year to host the G20, will depend on whether its advice is taken seriously and implemented’.

In another interesting development, Nigeria has asked for SA to back its bid to join Brics and to become a member of the G20. The Mail & Guardian reports that Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who met Ramoaphosa in Cape Town yesterday, said ‘Nigeria seeks the support of SA with regard to obtaining a full membership of the G20. She was speaking after the ministerial session of the 11th SA-Nigerian Binational Commission. ‘We also need the support of SA for Nigeria to take leading roles in thematic discussions of interest under SA’s leadership of the G20. ’Nigeria last year stated its ambition to join Brics within two years. It is one of 13 countries that were invited to become Brics partner nations at the bloc’s summit in Russia in October. The others are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.