Africa needs a say in global clubs

Africa has long participated in international politics and diplomacy, but remains excluded from decision-making clubs such as the G20 and the UN Security Council.

Recently, the global focus was on the continent as South Africa hosted the annual Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) Summit.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and European Union have been pressuring African countries to vote against Russia at the UN.

During the Cold War, Africa sided with superpowers from the global North to secure aid. Now the continent is looking beyond the Western bloc for assistance. 

Amid this shift in geopolitics, most leaders from the global north and emerging economies in the global south are keen to engage with the continent in trade, infrastructure and energy.

However, the continent requires genuine partnership to overcome its challenges, including poverty, youth unemployment, climate change and food insecurity.

Africa’s involvement is necessary for both national and global growth.

Endowed with massive natural resources, a youthful population and a bulging middle class, the continent’s economic opportunities are numerous.

Some of the main obstacles could be handled by national governments and global organisations such as the UN.

However, key institutions have become toothless and now dance to their funders’ agenda instead of strengthening world peace and prosperity.

Unsurprisingly, the Global South is calling for radical reforms in the UN, which was formed after the Second World War. This includes rising calls for the inclusion of Africa in the UN Security Council whose decisions affect the continent.

Currently, the war in Ukraine has disrupted the global value chain, hiking prices for essential commodities.

Vulnerable countries, especially in Africa, are hit hard by this man-made disaster, which could have been avoided by initiating peace.

This has left developing countries unable to cushion their citizens.

But the narrative is changing.

Recently, African leaders, led by South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, presented the continent’s call for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

The meeting with the leaders at war shows that the continent, once perceived as a beggar, is ready to share solutions for a better world.

Having Africa at the global decision-making table in such clubs as G20 Plus, the UN Security Council and the World Trade Organisation will help generate collective solutions and ensure that the continent’s 1.4 billion people are represented.

At last year’s UN General Assembly, African leaders, including Malawi’s Lazarus Chakwera, called for two permanent seats with veto power and five non-permanent seats for Africa in the UN Security Council.

This is in line with the African Union’s Ezulwini Consensus.

It will not only dial up African voices to shape global governance policies but also ensure that Africans’ interests are prioritised on the world stage.

Africa needs to collectively work with its allies and forge a global social network for its betterment.

With vast agricultural land and numerous mineral resources, Africa requires policies that encourage multinational corporations to invest in its contest.

The continent must also reform how investors engage in different States so that the proceeds from its abundant natural resources benefit the bulk of the population, not just the elite.

Policies should, for instance, discourage land grabbing and tax havens.

During the Brics Summit, Ramaphosa stated that African leaders want to deal with only investors who process resources in Africa to create jobs and improve people’s livelihoods.

Africa’s impact on the world scene keeps growing with its involvement in global geopolitics.

The continent is becoming a force on the international stage. As such, it deserves a seat at the table where global decisions are made.

This will contribute to Africa’s development, including the AU’s Agenda 2063 and the Global Sustainable Development Goals.

Without Africa’s involvement in global bodies, these clubs lose their relevance.