2025 SPRING MEETINGS OF THE WORLD BANK AND IMF
G20 – SOUTH AFRICA 2025 SIDE EVENT
Session III: Impediments to Development and Growth in Africa
Remarks
By
Mr. Claver Gatete
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Secretary of ECA
Washington DC, USA
24 April 2025
Excellencies,
Distinguished Ministers,
Esteemed Colleagues:
For decades, Africa has navigated the storms of global shocks from climate crises and Covid-19, to unjust trade regimes and unsustainable debt burdens.
But beyond global impacts, Africa today also faces structural headwinds that impede growth and development, ranging from limited fiscal space, fragmented financial systems, illicit financial flows, and a debt architecture that often fails to reconcile debt with development.
This is why we welcome the leadership of South Africa’s G20 Presidency and its call for “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability” which must translate into transformative action.
Here, I offer three policy imperatives:
First is the reform of the global debt architecture.
The G20’s Common Framework must embrace transparency, timeliness and a true developmental lens that integrates early warning signals and includes total public debt, not just external.
Second, is closing the tax gap.
We cannot look on as Africa loses more to illicit financial flows than it receives in aid.
The G20 must support modern tax administrations, leveraging AI, data analytics and digitization to combat profit shifting and empower African revenue authorities.
Third, we must scale blended finance for infrastructure.
Africa’s infrastructure gap costs the continent 2% of GDP growth each year.
The G20 should back a robust pipeline of bankable projects aligned with the AfCFTA and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, while ensuring climate justice, highlighting that Africa contributes less than 4% of global emissions, yet suffers the most, including infrastructure-related consequences.
As we dismantle the systemic barriers that hold Africa back, we can fully unlock Africa’s promise.
Thank you.