All G20 countries should help curb the negative effects of the global financial crisis on poor and developing countries, President Jacob Zuma said on Friday.
“We are concerned that slow growth in the world economy is affecting Africa’s trade, growth and job creation prospects,” Zuma said at the conclusion of the G20 Summit in France.
Before the crisis, Sub-Saharan Africa grew at a robust pace, averaging about 5%, he said.
However, South Africa’s real GDP growth was expected to remain below its pre-crisis 5% average at around 3.5% over the next two years.
Earlier this week, Zuma said world markets needed to be opened up in order to stimulate the recovery of the global economy.
The participation of low-income countries in global trade was crucial for their growth and poverty reduction.
On Friday, he said news that South Africa’s unemployment rate had dropped from 25.7% to 25% in the third quarter meant that the country was “doing something right”.
Zuma supported the need to prevent a recurrence of the global financial crisis.
“We support calls for measures to address the loose monetary policies in advanced countries, which are perpetuating global imbalances and shifting an unfair burden of adjustment to small open economies with flexible exchange rates.”
He said all the development priorities of the summit’s agenda were significant.
South Africa intended to put more emphasis on investment in infrastructure, food security, domestic resources, financial access to global partners, growth with resilience including improving the flow of remittances, and improving social protection measures.
“We are encouraged by the commitment to deal with the current economic crisis as well as undertakings to reduce imbalances in the world economy to promote sustainable, poverty-reducing and employment-creating growth,” said Zuma. — Sapa