Slow responses to global headwinds could defer 2030 Sustainable Development Goals deadline - Godongwana

DURBAN - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said that slow responses to global headwinds could defer the deadline for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, hitting Africa the hardest.

Godongwana made the comments during the opening address at the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on Thursday.

Global heads of fiscal and monetary policy at the table are preoccupied with policy uncertainty, fragmentation and stagnant economic growth.

Godongwana said that rising trade barriers, persistent global imbalances and new geopolitical risks could not go unchecked.

"Many developing countries, especially in Africa, remain burdened by high and rising debt vulnerabilities, constrained fiscal space and high cost of capital that limits their ability to invest in their people and their futures."

Godongwana said that a failure to address these challenges would have a domino effect on the fight against poverty, inequality and slow efforts to create jobs.

"The cumulative impact of these cascading challenges is pushing the achievement of the 2030 sustainable development goals further out of reach."