South Africa Leads G20: Ramaphosa Champions Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa

South Africa, one of the largest and most industrialised economies on the continent, has made history by becoming the first African nation to lead the G20. Seizing the moment, President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged bold reforms to harness the continent’s critical minerals as engines of growth and development.

On December 1, Ramaphosa officially assumed South Africa's historic G20 presidency, taking over from Brazil. Launching this pivotal role in Cape Town on December 3, Ramaphosa undertook to prioritise Africa’s development agenda and amplify the voices of the Global South. With a focus on driving transformative change, he committed to ensuring that these priorities take centre stage during South Africa's leadership of the G20 in 2025.

He hailed South Africa’s G20 presidency as a pivotal opportunity to drive global economic growth and champion sustainable development, positioning the nation of 64-million people as a powerful advocate for transformative change on the world stage.

“It is an opportunity to place the needs of Africa and the rest of the Global South more firmly on the international development agenda,” he said, adding the G20 was established to tackle pressing global economic and financial issues and its members account for around 85% of global GDP and 75% of international trade.

“The grouping therefore plays a critical role in influencing global policy making and fostering global economic stability. Decisions taken by the G20 have a direct impact on the lives of all members of the global community,” Ramaphosa said.

While Ramaphosa has moved to assure the nation the G20 summit will be held in a cost-effective manner, this has done little to stop critics from arguing that South Africa’s leadership of the G20 could be costly and potentially divert much-needed resources away from pressing domestic issues such as entrenched inequality, runaway unemployment, and deepening poverty.

However, others believe the crucial role presents a unique opportunity to elevate South Africa’s global standing, attract investment, and champion African interests on the world stage.

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has reportedly said the G20 is expected to cost around R691m. The figure includes expenses such as accommodation, ground and air transport, and venue facilities.

South Africa’s G20 leadership takes place at a moment when the world is facing severe challenges. “Across the world, billions of people are affected by underdevelopment, inequality, poverty, hunger and unemployment. The outlook for global economic growth remains subdued, and many economies carry the burden of unsustainable levels of debt,” Ramaphosa said.

He said geopolitical instability, conflict and war are causing further hardship and suffering, but working together with G20 members and building partnerships across society, “South Africa will seek to harness global will and capabilities to confront these challenges. We all seek to achieve more rapid, inclusive and economic growth. We all seek a more just and equal world, and a world in which poverty and hunger are eradicated”.

However, South Africa’s take over of the G20 presidency was not without drama. This after U.S. president-elect Donald Trump took to social media recently posting on X (formerly Twitter) that the idea of the Brics countries moving away from the dollar “while we stand by and watch” would not be accepted.

“We require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar, or they will face 100% tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy. They can go find another ‘sucker’!”

Trump made it clear that Brics countries — including SA — would not trade with the United States if the bloc tried to replace the dollar with a Brics currency or backed any other currency to replace the “might U.S. dollar”.

South Africa has chosen "Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability" as the theme for its G20 presidency, with Ramaphosa emphasising that fostering solidarity is key to building an inclusive future that prioritises those most at risk of being left behind.

“This is important in an interconnected world, where the challenges faced by one nation affect all nations. The disparities in wealth and development within and between countries is unjust and unsustainable,” Ramaphosa said.

By promoting equality, “we strive to ensure fair treatment and equal opportunities for all individuals and nations” and “we aim to break down divisions of economic status, gender, race, geography or any other characteristic”.

Sustainability involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. “In line with our theme, we will seek to strengthen and advance the international effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” Ramaphosa said.

He appears keenly aware of the significance of the task ahead, noting, "As the first African nation to lead the G20, South Africa will seize this opportunity to elevate the development priorities of both the African continent and the Global South on the G20 agenda.”

Ramaphosa said South Africa plans to build on the foundation laid by recent G20 presidencies, including Brazil in 2024, India in 2023, and Indonesia in 2022. It aims to leverage its leadership to drive urgent progress on shared objectives through a series of targeted priority actions.

The priority actions include:

•  Taking action to strengthen disaster resilience. Ramaphosa is concerned that the increasing rate of climate-induced natural disasters is affecting countries around the world, “with a devastating impact on those countries that cannot afford the costs of recovery and rebuilding”. This issue, he said, will be elevated to “leader level”, calling for the global community, including international financial institutions, development banks and the private sector, to scale up post-disaster reconstruction.

• Ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries. A key obstacle to inclusive growth in developing economies, including many in Africa, is an unsustainable level of debt which limits their ability to invest in infrastructure, healthcare, education and other development needs, said Ramaphosa. “Building on G20 initiatives undertaken in recent years, we will seek to advance sustainable solutions to tackle high structural deficits and liquidity challenges and extend debt relief to developing economies,” he said. “We will also seek to ensure that the sovereign credit ratings are fair and transparent and to address high risk premiums for developing economies.”

• Mobilising finance for a Just Energy Transition: “We will seek to secure agreement on increasing the quality and quantity of climate finance flows to developing countries. This would include strengthening multilateral development banks, enhancing and streamlining support for country platforms such as the Just Energy Transition Partnership and more effectively leveraging private capital.”

• Working together to harness “critical minerals for inclusive growth and development”. “As minerals extraction accelerates to match the needs of the energy transition, it is crucial to ensure that the countries and local communities endowed with these resources are the ones to benefit the most,” Ramaphosa noted.

He said South Africa will use the G20 to champion the use of critical minerals as an “engine for growth and development in Africa”.

South Africa’s presidency of the G20 will culminate in the G20 Presidency Leaders’ Summit, which will take place in Johannesburg in November 2025, bringing together the leaders of the G20 countries, African Union and European Union.

The summit is expected to deliberate on the critical issues arising from the working groups, task forces, initiatives and engagements.

“The Leaders Summit will adopt a declaration reflecting the collective views of G20 countries and the common actions they will take to address the most important challenges facing the world today.

“Tens of thousands of people from nearly 30 countries and representatives from over 20 regional and international organisations will arrive in South Africa over the course of our G20 Presidency.”

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, in a media briefing on December 5 to communicate the outcomes of the cabinet meeting held on December 4, said: “Hosting the G20, offers our nation an unprecedented opportunity to position South Africa as a global force for driving Inclusive Economic Growth, Employment and Reduced Inequality in a sustainable manner. We anticipate an economic boost in areas such as tourism and hospitality, with the participants, their support staff and families attend the more than 130 meetings before the Leaders Summit.

“All provinces will benefit from hosting either the Ministerial or Working Group Meetings. Following in the footsteps of Brazil, South Africa will host the G20 Social for broader participation of civil society and the introduce a new engagement group Township20 (TS20) to highlight the creative, cultural, financial and innovative capacities of South Africa’s township economies. The first working group meetings of The Sherpas, and Finance & Central Bank Deputies will take place from 9 – 10 December 2024 and 11 – 12 December 2024 in Gauteng.”

It is fair to say that South Africa’s G20 presidency marks a historic moment for Africa, placing the continent at the heart of global decision-making. With a bold agenda centred on "Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainability," Ramaphosa has committed to tackling critical issues like climate resilience, debt sustainability, and inclusive growth.

This leadership not only amplifies Africa's voice but also challenges the status quo, seeking a fairer and more just global order.

As the world gathers in Johannesburg for the 2025 Leaders’ Summit, South Africa’s presidency stands as a testament to the transformative power of collaboration and the pursuit of a shared, sustainable future, devoid of bullies espousing strong-arm tactics to protect entrenched interests at the expense of global equity and progress.