Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says a G20 Africa Expert Panel will be established to support the work of the G20 Finance Track.
He was speaking during the first day of the G20 Finance and Central Banks Deputies’ Meeting, held in Johannesburg, on Wednesday.
The Minister explained that the panel will consist of leading African economic, development and finance experts from the public sector, think tanks, academia and international financial institutions.
“We intend to use our Presidency to advance an African agenda. To further this agenda and ensure that we strengthen the manner in which the G20 respond to the social and economic needs of our continent, we intend to establish a G20 Africa Expert Panel to support the G20 Finance Track.
“One of the areas we will request the G20 Africa Expert Panel to advise us on is how we can ensure that the various African initiatives, including the compact with Africa, can be strengthened to the benefit of the continent,” Godongwana said.
On the need to reform the international financial architecture, the Minister said focus will now be on implementation on the agreement reached in the previous G20 Summit held in Brazil, last month.
The agreement – included in the G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration – states that the group of countries will accelerate the reform of the international financial architecture “so that it can meet the urgent challenges of sustainable development, climate change and efforts to eradicate poverty”.
“The G20 Roadmap towards Better, Bigger and More Efficient [Multilateral Development Banks] was a milestone achievement under Brazil’s Presidency. Now the focus turns to implementation and monitoring.
“The discussions under South Africa's G20 Presidency will take place alongside the 5th Finance in Common Summit that will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre… from 26 to 28 February 2025, as well as the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Spain in June 2025.
“Both these events provide a critical opportunity for countries to commit to closing the development financing gap and investing in the [Sustainable Development Goals],” Godongwana said.
Turning to debt sustainability, Godongwana said challenges in this area require a “comprehensive approach”.
“We will also keep our focus on enhancing debt sustainability, through improving the implementation of the Common Framework. We are aware that there are countries whose debt is sustainable, but which are facing acute liquidity challenges, which, if not addressed, could result in solvency challenges.
“These challenges necessitate a comprehensive approach towards debt sustainability, which means there is no one size fits all approach.
“It also forces us to acknowledge that debt sustainability cannot be solved through the Common Framework alone but must be solved through a focus on putting in place the measures for countries to make the right investments and undertake appropriate reforms to support sustainable and inclusive economic growth,” he said.
The Minister said although challenges are “formidable”, he expressed confidence that the G20 has the “will, capacity and determination to address them” if countries work together.
“In 2025 let us execute our work programme with urgency, ambition and confidence. Let us work together to ensure strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
“And through the G20 Presidency for 2025, and propelled by your support, let us go even further as the G20, by going together,” Godongwana concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
