Africa to stand up

 

South Africa assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2024, and its term lasts through November 2025. What is the G20? It consists of the world’s largest economies and meets regularly to discuss the globe’s most pressing economic issues.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he’d skip this year’s summit and send a representative. This year’s G20 Summit will be chaired by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa.

World leaders attend the second day of the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 19, 2024. Photo: Albi/via APK, Ariel

It’s becoming commonplace to see the U.S. act unilaterally and distance itself from foreign engagements outside of Israel.
Time has come for the Global South to fully stand up against the decaying economies of Europe and the U.S.

Everyone appears to agree, [that] these (U.S. and Europe) are dying economies and there is absolutely nothing we can do.

This is more than enough to prove they don’t want to be part of global deliberations that seek to improve the lives of global citizens.

So yes, there is a lot of disquiet about Europe and the U.S., mostly America, since Trump came into office.

The debt crisis in Africa and in many countries across the Global South is a product of a dysfunctional international monetary and financial system.

On the one hand, African countries are deprived of good returns on their commodity exports because foreign corporations successfully evade and avoid paying the taxes owed to African governments, resulting in high levels of licit and illicit financial flows, i.e. tax income that could have reduced the need for African governments to issue debts in foreign currency.

On the other hand, exorbitant interest rates increase the debt burden of African countries and when they face an adverse economic cycle, the IMF imposes harsh austerity measures on them.

It’s time for the G20 to push for major reforms that will help to address the fundamental inequality that is now baked into the global economic system. Only by focusing on public good as the main goal can we achieve development and climate goals.

Why does foreign direct investment not help to develop the internal market in Africa?

Because invention is located in extractive sectors. You take for example the case of Equatorial Guinea. It’s the richest country in Africa in terms of GDP per capita.

But you will see a half of the GDP is controlled by multinationals and half of the GDP is conferred each year to the rest of the world. This is that kind of the so-called development we have with foreign tech investment.

Demand from the G20 governments

It’s difficult to have demands adversely to the G20 because ordinarily their production is not focused on African development but for strategic interests, for capitalist interest.

Because if you want to have a current policy towards Africa we have to go against the logic of free trade, free enterprise and what is so-called the gut governance.

Things like this is the theoretical framework under which those countries of the G20 work. And (under) this framework could not help Africa develop.

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