G20 Summit | Digital world and data governance: Dr. Pheko

The article is a transcript from an SABC broadcast at the G20 South Africa 2025 summit held at the Nazare Expo Center, where the host broadcaster is providing 24/7 coverage over two days amid high activity from media and delegations. Road closures began at 7:00 AM, with leaders expected to arrive between 8:30 and 9:30 AM, followed by red carpet events and an opening address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at 10:00 AM to set the agenda. The summit features closed sessions with live broadcasts where possible: Session 1 focuses on inclusive and sustainable economic growth, including trade, financing for development, debt burdens, and presentations from the Africa expert panel and the committee on global wealth and inequality; Session 2 addresses a resilient world through disaster risk reduction, climate change, energy transition, and food systems; Session 3 explores a fair future via critical minerals, decent work, and artificial intelligence, including G20 at 20 review recommendations and adoption of the Johannesburg Leaders' Summit outcome document (scheduled for the next day). Analysts Dr. Sitle Mete (executive director, Public Affairs Research Institute) and Dr. Lebuang Pekco (senior research fellow and political economist) discuss key priorities. On digitalization, they highlight the need for data governance to counter big tech dominance from the US and China, addressing surveillance, algorithmic biases, and militarization of data; Africa controls less than 1% of global data, facing accessibility barriers (60% cannot afford basic bundles), and should prioritize innovation, digital democracy, local ownership of infrastructure like data centers, and democratization of access rather than predatory models. Regarding critical minerals and digital supply chains, Africa remains exploitable as a raw material source in colonial-like relations, buying back processed tech, and must shift to becoming a productive player in building infrastructure. Inequality is a core theme, with South Africa's commissioned World Inequality Lab report revealing 83% of countries face high inequality and the top 1% capturing 41% of global wealth; the G20's first such systemic study, stemming from Global South presidencies (Indonesia, India, Brazil, South Africa), frames inequality as a policy choice in taxation, redistribution, IP, and social protections, urging multilateral coordination and political will for reforms like taxing the wealthy (supported by 70% of high-net-worth individuals per Oxfam), ending corporate tax holidays, and enhancing gender-responsive budgeting and social safety nets. Inequality trends are now acute in the Global North, fueling populism and governance issues. Despite the US boycott and criticism of South Africa's presidency casting a shadow, the attendance of other leaders underscores the resilience of multilateralism amid shifting global power dynamics.