By Thapelo Molefe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on world leaders to take decisive action to address global inequality, warning that persistent disparities in wealth and opportunity threaten economic stability, democracy, and global peace.
In his weekly Monday newsletter, Ramaphosa said that South Africa’s G20 Presidency, which began nearly a year ago, has placed equality at the centre of its agenda, alongside solidarity and sustainability.
“If the G20 is going to live up to its mission to tackle pressing global economic and financial issues, then it needs to significantly and urgently reduce inequality,” the President wrote.
Ramaphosa highlighted staggering disparities in global wealth, noting that the richest 10 percent of the world’s population account for more than half of total global income and 74 percent of global wealth.
“These huge disparities are unjust and consign billions of people to poverty,” he said. “Inequality is bad for everyone. It makes the world less stable, fuels conflict and undermines democracy.”
According to Ramaphosa, one in four people globally face moderate or severe food insecurity, a crisis he says is directly linked to structural inequalities in the global economy.
As part of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, Ramaphosa appointed an Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, chaired by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.
The committee’s report, handed over last week, explores the root causes and consequences of inequality and offers practical policy recommendations.
Ramaphosa hailed the report as “a landmark contribution” that will enable the G20 to address inequality comprehensively.
“The features of the international economy that perpetuate inequality can be significantly affected by the decisions and actions of G20 governments,” Ramaphosa quoted the committee as saying.
“They note that inequality is a policy choice, and leaders must act accordingly,” he said.
Among the report’s key proposals is the establishment of a Permanent International Panel on Inequality, modelled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The new body would measure, monitor and report on inequality trends worldwide and advise governments, international institutions, and the G20 on policy interventions.
Ramaphosa said the panel would bring sustained global focus to inequality, much like the IPCC has done for climate change.
The report commends South Africa for implementing several policies aimed at reducing inequality, including progressive taxation, a national minimum wage, public healthcare subsidies, zero-rated essential foodstuffs, and social protection systems.
It also identifies market concentration and monopolistic practices as “key drivers of inequality,” issues that South Africa’s competition authorities have been increasingly tackling in recent years.
Ramaphosa reiterated South Africa’s call for reforming the global financial architecture to support debt sustainability in developing economies.
“Interest on sovereign debt repayments, particularly in Africa, is stifling public spending and economic growth,” he said. “It is widening the gap between countries and within countries.”
The President said the committee’s report supports South Africa’s push for multilateral development banks to adopt an “inequality-reducing agenda” and for nations to introduce National Inequality Reduction Plans with clear, measurable goals.
As South Africa prepares to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit next week in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa urged G20 members to give serious attention to the report’s recommendations.
“Although not all the recommendations are new, what we are pleased about is that this is the first time the G20 will be considering the issue of global inequality,” he said.
The President ended his message by reaffirming South Africa’s commitment to building a fairer world order.
“Inequality is one of the most pressing global issues of our time,” Ramaphosa wrote. “This report provides a credible blueprint for the actions we need to take to overcome it.”
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