South Africa’s bid to keep global debt reform at the centre of G20 priorities faces renewed scrutiny as the United States assumes the presidency, a transition taking place amid what Reuters describes as the highest global debt levels on record. South Africa’s tenure produced the first standalone Ministerial Declaration on debt sustainability since the pandemic, yet only four nations; Chad, Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia, have completed structured debt treatments under the G20’s Common Framework, as highlighted by CNBC Africa.
The incoming U.S. leadership is expected to confront a landscape in which emerging markets collectively shoulder more than $100 trillion in debt. Reuters also reports that around twenty African countries remain in or near distress, intensifying calls for continuity on debt reform rather than a shift in focus that sidelines African concerns.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Reuters that South Africa plans to advocate for more institutionalised, predictable approaches to sovereign debt restructuring as the G20 chairmanship moves to Washington. Analysts cited by Reuters, however, caution that without binding enforcement mechanisms, the bloc’s ability to drive meaningful change will remain constrained even as financial pressures deepen across developing economies.
