G20 Summit | Africa's seat at the G20 table

The article is a transcript from an SABC broadcast discussing South Africa's 2025 G20 presidency, emphasizing Africa's pivotal role in global discussions. Hosts and guests, including media consultant Lorato Se and Dr. Simon BME, highlight the summit's achievements, such as the 31-page G20 declaration mentioning 'Africa' 52 times and centering African economies, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), critical minerals, green industrialization, African credit ratings agencies, and Pan-African payment systems. This marks a shift where African governments, led by South Africa, actively contributed policies, initiatives, and financing strategies to redesign multilateralism, fostering pride among African journalists as a continental milestone. Key challenges discussed include the stalled progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with only 12% of targets on track and 30% regressed or stalled by the 2030 midpoint, leaving over half the world behind, particularly Africa. Blockages like unequal global finance, intra-African trade barriers, and debt burdens—where repayments exceed spending on healthcare, education, and infrastructure—were addressed. The G20 Compact on Africa, co-led with Germany, plans a 'Compact 2.0' to operationalize solutions for debt, equitable financing, and trade. A forthcoming borrowers' conference aims to unite highly indebted African states for collective negotiations with creditors, including private lenders and development banks, leveraging strength in numbers. Illicit financial outflows were a major focus, draining $88-150 billion annually from Africa—65% from multinational trade misinvoicing, 30% from criminal/commercial activities, and 5% from corruption—totaling over $1 trillion lost in 50 years, exceeding aid and loans received. This positions Africa as a net creditor to the world, undermining resources for health, education, and development. Solutions include building institutional capacity to safeguard financial systems, harmonizing regional policies, supporting global tax reforms (e.g., OECD-G20 and UN initiatives for fair corporate taxation), and strengthening domestic revenue collection, as exemplified by South Africa's SARS. AfCFTA's potential as a game-changer is tempered by implementation hurdles, such as the need for synthesized legislation across borders to combat smuggling (e.g., cigarettes) and ensure free movement of people and goods. Progress requires starting with regional economic communities like SADC, EAC, ECOWAS, and ECCAS to build foundational integration before continental scale. The discussion warns against repeating exploitative cycles with Africa's rich critical minerals, stressing equitable beneficiation. Overall, the summit underscores Africa's agency in global finance but highlights the urgent need for internal cohesion, fair international systems, and anti-exploitation measures to achieve sustainable growth and SDG targets.