She was speaking to members of the G20 Development Working Group, currently meeting in Durban, SA, to address key issues such as expansion and the fight against corruption.
The G20 Senior Managers in the Development Working Group are meeting in Durban to prepare for the ministerial meeting, which will be held in July at Kruger National Park, SA.
The delegates are finalising texts that will guide them before the ministerial meeting. According to Minister Ramakgopa, the G20 represents 85% of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and over 75% of global trade.
She adds that the African continent loses almost R88.6 billion annually due to illicit financial flows. Ramakgopa says the continent needs to curb these illicit outflows in order to fulfil its dream of development.
She emphasised that the development of Africa is important and requires a collective effort to transform the continent.
“The first priority area is, as you all are aware, the strengthening of domestic resources through curbing illicit financial flows, which continues to deprive developing nations, such as most African countries, of resources needed to invest in health, education, and infrastructure. We do know that the mobilisation of resources is becoming more important and dire and as a result, this matter must be resolved and we must find the solution to assist our countries, more especially the developing ones, to be able to have the way of ensuring that they mobilise their own resources domestically to meet their own needs.”
The second aspect that will be discussed by the delegates is the strengthening of social protection systems to address inequality and poverty.
“The second priority, as you all know, has been the advancement of social protection systems to promote dignity, resilience, and opportunity, particularly for the poor, women, and other vulnerable groups. Social protection remains a cornerstone of SA’s fight against poverty and inequality. SA is one of the countries with the highest levels of inequality, and we remain firmly committed to bridging that gap.”
Climate change is another aspect that has been a thorny issue for a long time across the globe. Ramakgopa says this topic is also vital.
“The third and final priority is managing risk, promoting global health, and fostering digital inclusion as we consider the global public goods from climate stability to pandemic preparedness and digital infrastructure. Let’s ensure that the governance and financial mechanisms are inclusive and also just. SA has championed a call for further access to clean technologies, vaccines, and climate adaptation and finance. They are global imperatives as we learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic and the worsening climate conditions that we are currently through as a globe.”
--SABC/ChannelAfrica--
