President Cyril Ramaphosa pointed out on Monday that the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, last week viewed the formation of South Africa’s Government of National Unity (GNU) as a sign of stability and a common commitment to inclusive growth, employment and a capable State.

This comes as the GNU faces instability with Ramaphosa’s controversial signing of the Expropriation Bill, as well as the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act and the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), a GNU signatory, has threatened to leave the coalition government, and has lodged a formal GNU dispute over the Expropriation Bill and the NHI Bill.

While the DA acknowledged the WEF’s positive sentiment toward the GNU it accused the African National Congress of disrespecting coalition partners and undermining trust by pushing through Bills without consulting GNU partners.

On Monday, Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that the WEF welcomed the reforms underway in areas such as energy, logistics, telecommunications and water to grow and transform the country’s economy.

The South Africa delegation in Davos presented its priorities for its G20 Presidency, last week.

South Africa assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2024, and will hold it until November 30, 2025.

“In a plenary address and in a separate discussion with business leaders, we outlined our theme for the G20 this year – Solidary, Equality, Sustainable Development – and the focus areas through which we will give meaning to this theme,” Ramaphosa said.

COOPERATION

It was in the interests of all countries, large and small, wealthy and poor, to reduce global inequality, Ramaphosa stressed.

“…that is why one of our priorities is ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries. By freeing up funds for debt relief in these countries, they will be in a better position to invest in infrastructure, industrial development, education, health care and other forms of development.

“We stressed that our themes and priorities are underpinned by the principle of cooperation. Throughout history, human progress has been possible only through collaboration among peoples and countries,” he said.

He highlighted that South Africa renewed its call for the resolution of global challenges through multilateral actions, calling for inclusive solutions that recognised that the world was more interconnected than ever.

Ramaphosa noted that cooperation was vital if government was to overcome the existential threat of climate change and pointed out that carbon emissions into the atmosphere, global warming and the extreme weather events that it caused did not recognise national boundaries or political systems.

“As we saw during the Covid pandemic, the same is true of pandemics and other health emergencies. Conflict in one part of the world impacts on countries in other parts of the world. Trade wars, especially between large economies, weaken the global economy and hold back inclusive growth and development for all.

“In the world of today, no country can go it alone. No country can sustain its growth, stability and development without working together with other countries to overcome common problems,” he said.

He highlighted that South Africa’s message resonated with the participants in Davos, “it was a sentiment shared by many of the business leaders with whom we interacted, as well as with other heads of state and multilateral institutions.”

He said many people endorsed South Africa’s G20 priorities.

“…they saw the value of our focus on Africa and the interests of countries with developing economies. They appreciated the importance of reducing inequality within and between countries and the need for new growth paths that are climate-friendly sustainable,” stated Ramaphosa.

FINANCES AND MINERALS

Meanwhile, he said another focus area, which reduces poverty and promotes sustainability, is the mobilisation of finance for a just energy transition.

“Through this, developing economy countries will be able to pursue a low-carbon development path while protecting the interests of affected workers, businesses and communities,” he explained.

Related to this was the mobilisation of special financing and insurance, which he said would enable vulnerable countries to rebuild after being struck by natural disasters.

He also pointed to the need for harnessing critical minerals, which were abundant in Africa and other countries of the Global South, to promote inclusive growth and development.

“We proposed a G20 framework on ‘green’ industrialisation so that countries endowed with these resources must be the ones that benefit most,” he added.