By Irna
Pretoria : The G-20 faces many challenges, including that members’ support for global initiatives have only had a modest effect on their behavior, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa said on Sunday.
Speaking at the G-20 conference in the southern Cape coastal town of Kleinmond, he said South Africa supported the call for substantial changes in the governance structures of the so-called Bretton Woods institutions, including the IMF and World Bank.
“This [change] is necessary because the current governance framework inadequately serves the collective and individual interests of the membership of the two institutions, SAPA reported.
“We are convinced that a transformed governance framework of these institutions will help to accelerate the process of the eradication of global poverty,” Mbeki said.
The work of the G-20 had brought about a “shifting to a new model of multilateral engagement”.
However, many challenges remained.
“This is confirmed for example by the findings that the support for global initiatives has only had a modest effect on members’ behaviour, and even less impact on the behaviour of non-member countries.
“These findings also point to the challenges in implementation as well as the need for strengthened outreach, he said.
The world was changing rapidly and dramatically.
“For a very long period we have had a multilateral system which has been characterised by the domination of the many by the few. This replicated itself in each and every international engagement.
“Accordingly, even when modifications to the international finance architecture became necessary, especially during periods of global financial turbulence, the outcomes have inevitably preserved the status quo – allowing only for insignificant alterations,” Mbeki said.