Key Takeaways
- President Cyril Ramaphosa used his Wits Business School keynote to frame global inequality as a crisis that stunts human progress and democracy.
- South Africa, although excluded from the current US‑led G20 meetings, continues the inequality agenda it launched during its own G20 presidency, backed by Brazil, Norway, Spain and other partners.
- The landmark report commissioned by South Africa and led by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz shows that the top 1 % captured 41 % of new wealth (2000‑2024) while the poorer half received only 1 %.
- UN Secretary‑General António Guterres praised South Africa’s leadership, emphasizing that inequality is fundamentally about power and who gets to shape global rules.
- Ramaphosa announced the establishment of an Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, whose work will feed an international panel aimed at producing policy recommendations, but stressed that coordinated multilateral action is essential for real change.
President Ramaphosa’s Address on Global Inequality
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a passionate keynote at the Wits Business School’s Public Global Inequality dialogue, positioning inequality as one of the greatest threats to humanity. He argued that when opportunity is scarce, potential is wasted and progress stalls, describing inequality as a mechanism that entrenches poverty across generations by limiting access to quality education, nutrition, and social networks. The president framed the issue not merely as an economic disparity but as a democratic emergency that concentrates power in the hands of a few ultra‑wealthy individuals and corporations, allowing them to shape global rules to their advantage. By labeling inequality a “crisis,” Ramaphosa sought to mobilize both domestic and international audiences to recognize the urgency of concerted action.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency and US Exclusion
Ramaphosa reminded the audience that South Africa’s tenure as G20 president produced concrete outcomes, most notably the commissioning of a major report on global inequality. Despite this legacy, the country finds itself on the outside looking in during the current US‑held G20 presidency. He disclosed that the United States, under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had sent invitations to all G20 members except South Africa and characterized Pretoria’s G20 work as an “exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas.” In a pointed anecdote, Ramaphosa likened South Africa’s situation to a student who could only listen to lectures through a window, saying, “We also follow what is happening in the G20 by rumour.” The US boycott of the November leaders’ summit did not deter Pretoria from persisting with the inequality agenda it had begun.
Findings of the Stiglitz Report
The core of South Africa’s G20 inequality initiative is the report led by Nobel laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz. Ramaphosa highlighted its stark statistics: between 2000 and 2024, the richest one percent of the world’s population captured 41 % of all newly created wealth, while the poorer half of humanity secured a mere one percent. The report goes beyond income disparities to examine the drivers of rising inequality—such as technological change, tax policies, and labour market reforms—and its consequences for democratic institutions, economic growth, and societal well‑being. By presenting this evidence, the Stiglitz report provides a factual foundation for policymakers to understand how concentrated wealth translates into unequal opportunities and entrenched poverty across generations.
International Support and UN Secretary‑General’s Remarks
Despite the US snub, South Africa’s inequality push enjoys broad backing. Representatives from Brazil, Norway, and Spain attended the Wits dialogue, signalling solidarity with Pretoria’s agenda. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres reinforced this support in a video message, lauding South Africa for spotlighting inequality as a global emergency. Guterres argued that inequality is fundamentally about power: who holds it, who is denied it, and how it shapes every life chance. He warned that unequal outcomes today lock in unequal opportunities tomorrow in education, healthcare, and other essential services, but also expressed confidence that the injustice can be confronted through collective action rooted in dignity and sustainability.
Call for Coordinated Action and the Inequality Panel
Ramaphosa concluded by announcing the establishment of the Extraordinary Committee of Independent Experts on Global Inequality, which, under Stiglitz’s leadership, produced the seminal report now intended to guide future policy. He stressed that the forthcoming international panel on inequality will serve as a platform to translate analysis into concrete recommendations, but emphasized that the panel alone cannot solve the problem. Real progress, he argued, requires coordinated multilateral action, shared responsibility, and a sense of urgency across governments, civil society, and the private sector. Only by acting together on all fronts—economic, social, and political—can the world begin to reverse the corrosive effects of inequality and restore a path toward inclusive development.