South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed optimism that the upcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg will deliver tangible reforms to the global financial system while tackling widening global inequality.
Speaking in Cape Town’s National Assembly on Thursday, November 6, he said South Africa’s presidency of the G20 aims to build a “more stable, effective, and resilient international financial architecture” that prioritises the needs of developing nations.
Ramaphosa highlighted that one of the summit’s anticipated outcomes is a stronger commitment to reforming multilateral development institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the African Development Bank.
These reforms, he said, would help countries achieve their sustainable development goals and manage debt vulnerabilities that hinder poverty reduction and growth. The Johannesburg Leaders’ Declaration, he added, is expected to include measures to enhance the implementation of the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment, ensuring a fair and coordinated approach to debt relief.
Addressing inequality, the president referenced a new report by the G20 Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Wealth Inequality, chaired by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. The report proposes reforming international economic rules, implementing fairer taxation for multinational corporations and the ultra-wealthy, and creating an independent global panel to monitor inequality trends. Ramaphosa underscored that these recommendations form part of South Africa’s wider call for a just and inclusive global economic order.