INSouth

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe

"Indeed, the irony of the current global financial crisis is that the pillars of stability and the hope for future economic recovery potentially lie in the South - if we continue to prioritise both growth and the redistribution of wealth to the majority, including the poor."

The international political and economic system has entered into a period of great instability, accompanied by food and energy security crises and, more recently, the turmoil in financial markets. These militate against the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Our collective responsibility remains poverty eradication worldwide.

The ill-conceived decisions of the few have brought the international financial system to the brink of collapse with dire consequences for the many poor and vulnerable most notably from our three continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
 

Therefore I am obliged to raise a number of key strategic considerations with regard to the South in the global system.

Ten years ago, the efforts of Asian countries to stabilise their financial system and develop sustainable financial models were dismissed by those who today pour in huge amounts of capital to shore up institutions whose governance practices are questionable.

We do hope that, as joint efforts are put in place to address these challenges, leaders of both developed and developing countries will examine the central question as to what really went wrong! Where are the self-regulatory mechanisms that we were told would obviate what has become an unmitigated disaster?

As a developing world we must accept that one size fits all solutions prescribed to us by the developed world must be approached cautiously. They are not always the panacea they are held out to be.

We are rightfully suspicious today of philosophies of economic liberalisation underpinned by blind faith in poorly regulated markets.

Indeed, the irony of the current global financial crisis is that the pillars of stability and the hope for future economic recovery potentially lie in the South - if we continue to prioritise both growth and the redistribution of wealth to the majority, including the poor.

A few critical matters require ongoing reflection.

• Firstly, how do we incentivise production and trade of commodities rather than the cynical and speculative trade in money markets that bear little relation to actual production and trade?
• Secondly, how do we do we improve the governance of financial institutions to facilitate investments in human development rather than encourage short-termism and self enrichment among executives of large international corporations. 
• Thirdly, how do we strengthen our own capacities as the South to build sustainable financial and productive systems?
• Fourthly, how do we give new impetus to global trade negotiations, proceeding from the understanding that, ultimately, it is equitable trade which will drive human development? 

We need to reflect on the immediate pooling of our intellectual resources to pursue these and other questions.

Excerpts from remarks by the South African President Kgalema Motlanthe on the Occasion of the 3rd India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Summit, New Delhi, 15 October 2008.  Click here for full statement.