By Gabisile Ngcobo
Rio de Janeiro- International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola says global citizens must hold the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) accountable.
This comes after various declarations and commitments were made during the summit that opened on Monday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The first day of the G20 Leaders’ Summit came to an end on Monday, with important results for the future of the planet and crucial commitments such as the fight against hunger, sustainable development and the taxation of billionaires.
“Each of them was speaking and committing. I think the people of the world will have to make the leaders accountable for their commitments that are being made at the G20.
“They will be a platform next year in South Africa to take stock of the commitments of how far the world has progressed,” he told the South African media.
In their G20 declaration, the leaders said they remain resolute in their dedication to fighting hunger, poverty, and inequality, promoting sustainable development in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions, and reforming global governance.
They also acknowledged that what was needed was a political will to create conditions to expand access to food and welcomed the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty under Brazil’s G20 Presidency.
Meanwhile, the document referred to the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza and the escalation in Lebanon,” and highlighted the urgent need to expand humanitarian assistance and reinforce the protection of civilians.
They also touched on the war in Ukraine, stressing the human suffering and the negative impact it has on global food and energy security, supply chains, macro-financial stability, inflation and growth.
The leaders also committed to scaling up urgent action to address challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, ocean and land degradation, drought and pollution.
This prominent gathering of world leaders pledged to work for a reinvigorated and strengthened multilateral system, rooted in the United Nations Charter and International Law, with renewed institutions and reformed governance that is more representative and reflect the realities of the 21st century.
Lamola strongly believes the commitments made will be fulfilled.
“As you’re aware, we continue to look for the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the people of the world must do the same and we’ll ensure that there’s implementation on what is committed.”
South Africa’s G20
Brazil will hand over the reins this afternoon as South Africa is set to assume the Chair of the G20 from Brazil on 1 December with the preparations to host the summit next year currently underway.
South Africa’s G20 Presidency will focus on solidarity, equality, and sustainability.
He told the media that the country will also have a sharp focus on artificial intelligence (AI), including innovation for Africa.
The Minister described AI and innovation as crosscutting in various sectors and believed they could help “leapfrog” the African continent to par with developed countries.
In addition, he said the country’s G20 Presidency will also zoom into the Pact of the Future which was adopted by the world leaders at the Summit of the Future in September this year.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted this pact that aims to make the organisation more relevant and effective on the global stage in the 21st century.
“Indeed, the agenda is loaded but we believe from the declaration read here in Brazil will be able to build a consensus and also shine the spotlight on the number of issues for the Global South and African continent and the marginalised people of the world,” Lamola said.
Meanwhile, the Minister said the value of hosting the G20 Leaders’ Summit far surpasses any amount injection into the gross domestic product (GDP) and spoke about the boom in tourism.
“You can see that the City of Rio is alive, and it has been like this for the whole year of Rio hosting several Ministerial Meetings, working groups, task teams and task forces. People were flocking to Brazil, and it has shone a spotlight on the issues of the world and the economy.”
Lamola is also of the view that the money that will be injected into the country hosting the summit will be a worthy investment. – SAnews.gov.za
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Miss Murder
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”