The African Moment: G20 Expert Panel Report Charts Course for Global Growth and Financing

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The atmosphere was one of solemn resolve as Mr. Trevor Manuel, Chairperson of the Africa Expert Panel, formally handed over the Panel's comprehensive report, marking a pivotal moment in South Africa’s G20 Presidency. This handover is considered a key milestone, signaling the nation's commitment to prioritising solutions for issues paramount to the African continent ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the first ever to be convened in Africa.

Addressing the panel members and distinguished guests, the sentiment was clear, the solutions to many of the world's complex and urgent challenges reside on the African continent. The Expert Panel’s central finding underscores a profound truth: the single greatest opportunity for global prosperity in the 21st century lies in Africa. This potential is rooted in its youthful and rapidly expanding population, innovative societies, and vast wealth of natural resources, including the critical minerals essential for powering new global technologies.

To convert this tremendous potential into reality, the report firmly champions the establishment of a new partnership. This essential collaboration must span African nations themselves, extend to the G20 member states, and encompass the broader global community. The core objective of this partnership is singularly focused on mobilizing the requisite financing for Africa to make productive, high-impact investments in its infrastructure and its people.

The report also confronts the immediate hurdles head-on, warning that without a concerted effort to alleviate the debilitating debt burden faced by many African countries, a lost decade for development is a severe risk, not only for Africa but for other global regions as well. South Africa's G20 Presidency has therefore elevated debt sustainability as a high-level priority, a stance validated by the recent Ministerial Declaration on Debt, which provides a foundation for concrete follow-up actions.

Crucially, the Panel’s analysis highlights the disproportionately high cost of capital for African nations, which persists despite having fundamentals comparable to other regions.

This unwarranted risk perception unjustly raises borrowing costs and stifles equity investment across the continent. To rectify this structural inequality, the Panel proposes specific, evidence-based actions. These include the massive mobilization of concessional funding from multilateral development banks and African trade and finance institutions, coupled with a mandate for greater transparency and accountability from credit rating agencies to address inherent biases.

As an independent group of experts, the Africa Expert Panel has delivered a detailed and actionable roadmap. The proposals, taken together, are designed to trigger an investment boom in Africa. South Africa has committed to championing these vital proposals, not just within the G20 framework, but across all international bodies, working in close collaboration with the African Union and other partners to ensure Africa secures the resources necessary for robust development and sustainable growth. The Report adds significant, urgent impetus to this collective effort.