G20 Update

Making Progress Towards Finalising Priority Issues For The G20 Agenda

The Value of Unpaid Labour

• 27% - contribution to South Africa’s GDP by women’s care work

• R749-billion - contribution in unpaid household production

• 73.8% - of the above amount is by women

This work fuels our society and economy, yet it’s still unpaid and undervalued

Source: G20 South Africa

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD) hosted the 3rd Technical Meeting of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group (EWWG) from 1 to 4 July at Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga Province.

With the theme “The Care Economy - Paid and Unpaid Care Work and Household Responsibilities”, the four-day meeting put the spotlight on the long standing disparities in the recognition and distribution of care work. The care economy is multi-faceted and includes unpaid domestic work and caregiving for children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. However, although this work is essential to running households and taking care of families, and plays a vital role in the economy, it still remains undervalued. Furthermore, it is disproportionately carried by women and girls.

According to the Human Sciences Research Centre (HSRC), the technical meeting attracted an impressive array of G20 member states, guest countries, international organisations, and civil society groups. Among the speakers were DWYPD Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga, delegates from United Nations Women, International Labour Organisation (ILO), and World Health Organisation (WHO). Representatives of G20 engagement groups including Women 20 (W20) and Women Empower 20 also attended.

In her opening remarks on the third day of the meeting, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Letsike said that the event had been a powerful space of shared purpose. The delegates had engaged in thoughtful and sometimes difficult conversations, recognising that the path towards gender equality requires not only commitment, but concrete action and accountability.

The meeting had centred on three priorities of the working group.

• The care economy - focusing on both paid and unpaid care work. The working group acknowledged that caregiving, too often undervalued and invisible, is the backbone of societies and economies. Elevating the status of care work, ensuring decent wages and conditions for care workers, and addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid care responsibilities go beyond being just gender issues. They are economic imperatives.

• Accelerating financial inclusion for women and girls. Access to financial services, digital tools, credit, and entrepreneurship opportunities are vital enablers for economic independence and long-term security. It is crucial to continue to break down the structural and social barriers that keep women from full participation in the financial system.

• Confronting the deeply troubling and pervasive realities of gender-based violence and femicide No society can claim to be just or equal while women continue to live in fear, or worse, lose their lives simply because they are women. The EWWG reaffirmed the urgent need for prevention, protection, and prosecution anchored in survivor-centered policies and a culture of zero tolerance.

“I am happy that we are beginning to see the tangibles that will emerge from the South African G20 Presidency. One of these is the action plan on financial inclusion which starts to define the key strategic focus, action areas, and initiatives that we could adopt as G20 members to drive financial inclusion. This will assist to ensure systemic reform, institutional accountability, and policy innovation grounded in lived realities and rigorous evidence.”

Deputy Minister Letsike added that the working group was putting forward strategies on addressing policy perspectives on the care economy and on dealing with GBV. These policy briefs would be presented as recommendations for the G20.

“These issues are not isolated as they are interconnected, and they demand a holistic and intersectional approach. The solutions we seek must be inclusive, grounded in evidence, and responsive to the diverse realities of women’s lives.Through collective commitment and action, G20 members can make significant strides in promoting gender equality and achieving sustainable development.”

Finance and Central Bank Deputies and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meetings

The G20 finance meetings took place in July at the Capital Zimbali Resort in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal. The meetings, which were very well attended, started with the Finance and Central Bank Deputies convening from 14 to 15 July, followed by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting from 17 to 18 July.

The Finance Track brings together leaders, finance ministers and central bank heads to discuss global macroeconomic issues. It is co-hosted by South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, and the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Lesetja Kganyago, together with their respective deputies.

National Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse and SA Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Rashad Cassim cohosted the fourth Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting.

In his opening remarks on 14 July, Mr Pieterse said that the meeting was happening at a moment of ongoing uncertainty in the global economy in which various challenges remain including uneven growth trajectories, elevated debt levels, persistent inflationary pressures, and tightening financial conditions.

“The multilateral system is being tested, and our collective ability to respond will shape the pace of our recovery, but also the prospects for inclusive and sustainable development. As the G20, we have the responsibility to demonstrate leadership, and our Presidency places a very strong emphasis on strengthening the role of the G20 in delivering concrete solutions, fostering a more stable and effective and resilient international financial architecture, enhancing debt sustainability, addressing liquidity challenges, as well as strengthening multilateral development banks, and ensuring financing for development.”

The discussions over the two days were structured in dedicated sessions:

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) gave an update on its monitoring and reporting framework which is a critical tool in the implementation of the G20 MDB (Multilateral Development Bank) roadmap. The G20 MDB Roadmap towards Better, Bigger, and More Effective MDBs outlines a comprehensive vision to reform the banks and enable them to better address regional and global challenges, create more jobs and opportunities, and support countries in their achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the goals of the Paris Agreement. The CEB’s framework is key as it enables the banks to assess how they are working better as a system, enhancing their effectiveness and maximising developmental impact.

The World Bank facilitated a pandemic response exercise simulating a coordinated pandemic response financing scenario. This allowed the delegates to explore practical mechanisms for mobilising and deploying resources rapidly and effectively during a global health emergency.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank gave an update on the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR). The GSDR brings together debtor countries and bilateral and private creditors to build greater common understanding on debt sustainability and debt restructuring challenges, and ways to address them. It is co-chaired by the IMF, World Bank and G20 Presidency. Some of the milestones that were highlighted were the publication of the GSDR Playbook on Sovereign Debt Restructurings and the publication of the G20 Note: Steps of a Debt Restructuring under the Common Framework, which outlines processes and negotiation steps between a debtor country and its official creditors under the Common Framework.

Chairperson of the Africa Expert Panel, the former Minister of Finance for South Africa, Mr Trevor Manuel provided an overview of the work of the Panel which was established by South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 from the beginning of December, to raise initiatives to tackle the unsustainable debt crisis among many African countries. In his presentation, Mr Manuel aimed to ensure that African priorities align with the global economic reform efforts being discussed in the G20.

“Part of what needs to happen is that South countries in the G20 need to mobilise further support of these issues, and what the Africa Expert Panel is focused on is having an implementable programme,” he said to the media on the sidelines of the meeting. “And so we will develop norms and standards, and I think part of what we hope the African continent will pick up is the desire to hold the feet of the rich North to the fire. It’s not going to happen just because there is a change of appetite. There needs to be a lot of pressure and an understanding.”

A Commitment To Addressing Debt Vulnerabilities

At the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting which took place following the Deputies gathering, members of the G20 pledged to address the mounting debt pressures in low and middle-income economies amid the global financial turbulence.

This was the final FMCBG meeting of the G20 Presidency to be held in South Africa. The next meeting will convene in Washington D.C. on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in October.

The meeting concluded on 18 July with all members consenting to a communiqué that centred on strategic macroeconomic issues.

The news agency Reuters summarised the key points of the communiqué:

Global Economy and Trade

• Highlighted the uncertainty in the global economy caused by conflicts, trade tensions, supply chain disruptions, high debt levels, and frequent extreme weather events and natural disasters,

• Affirmed the commitment of central banks to ensure price stability, stating, “central bank independence is crucial to achieving this goal.”

Multilateral Cooperation

• Stressed the importance of multilateral cooperation, recognising the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in advancing trade issues and maintaining agreed-upon rules as part of the global trading system while acknowledging the WTO’s challenges, calling for “meaningful, necessary, and comprehensive reform.”

Debt

• Committed to addressing debt vulnerabilities in low- and middle-income countries, including a commitment to further strengthen the implementation of the G20 Common Framework (CF) in a predictable, timely, orderly, and coordinated manner. “We endorse the G20 note on lessons learned from initial CF cases and the document outlining debt treatment steps.”

The full communiqué can be accessed on the G20 South Africa website media releases

The media release jointly issued by National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank which gave a comprehensive overview of the two-day meeting can be accessed on their websites.

Upcoming Events August

29 July - 1 August : 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting

6-7 August: P20: Meeting of Women Parliamentarians

18-22 August: Y20 Summit

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Source: G20 South Africa | Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities | Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) | Government of South Africa | The World Bank | Reuters