G20 Summit | Illicit outflows from the African continent

This transcript from an SABC News broadcast at the G20 South Africa 2025 media center features a discussion on key economic and geopolitical issues facing Africa and the Global South. The main topics revolve around illicit financial outflows from Africa, particularly involving critical minerals essential for emerging technologies like AI, and the role of the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) forum in fostering South-South cooperation. The conversation highlights Africa's rich deposits of minerals such as cobalt, chromium, and lithium, which have historically been extracted exploitatively, processed abroad, and sold back as expensive finished products, perpetuating economic injustice. Panelists emphasize the need for Africa to integrate into global value chains, ensure fair taxation, and regulate trade to prevent illicit practices like mislabeling exports (e.g., cobalt disguised as paper to evade duties). They reference the G20 Critical Minerals Framework, a voluntary blueprint for equitable regulation, but note its non-binding nature limits enforcement. Historical exploitation during industrial revolutions is contrasted with Africa's push for beneficiation and value addition in the fourth industrial revolution to drive continental development. The Africa High-Level Panel Report, led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki under the African Union, is cited as a key document urging global bodies like the UN and EU to curb illicit trade and financial outflows, with calls for G20 implementation. Challenges include resistance from industrialized G7 nations that benefited from past exploitation and a lack of strong African leadership to negotiate firmly. Discussants point to intra-African divisions, where national interests hinder collaboration, contrasting this with the EU's model of ceding sovereignty for collective gains. They stress the need for efficient African Union institutions to enable unified advocacy by mineral-rich countries. The discussion shifts to the IBSA forum, established in the early 2000s under Brazilian President Lula da Silva (predating BRICS), to strengthen ties among developing nations. With India, Brazil, and South Africa having consecutively hosted the G20, IBSA's meeting—featuring Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa, Narendra Modi, and Lula—focuses on countering U.S. trade hostilities like tariffs, reforming violated trade rules, and aligning on global issues. Key agenda items include climate change financing (opposing U.S. skepticism), peace and security in regions like Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, and the DRC, and addressing inequality. IBSA is portrayed as a vital platform for a unified Global South voice in multilateral forums like the UN, promoting political and economic solidarity without dissent. Overall, the broadcast underscores Africa's imperative to renegotiate resource trade for sustainable development amid global power shifts, while IBSA exemplifies collaborative potential for emerging economies, with implications for equitable globalization and reduced dependency on the North.