Lamola puts a $1.3 trillion annual bill on Africa's youth promises

South Africa has called for concrete action and more development financing so that the Pact for the Future delivers measurable progress for Africa’s young people before its 2028 review, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said at the United Nations this week.

Lamola was speaking at a high-level side event on implementing the Pact in Africa, held on the margins of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. The event focused on turning the Pact’s commitments into action on the continent, including youth empowerment and financing for development.

The Pact for the Future was adopted by UN member states in 2024. It sets out a framework covering sustainable development and financing for development, international peace and security, science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation, youth and future generations, and global governance.

Speaking as chair of the Southern African Development Community, Lamola said youth empowerment and financing for development are key priorities for the region and the continent.

“At its core, the Pact for the Future is an affirmation of our shared responsibility to future generations,” he said.

He tied that responsibility directly to the continent’s demographics. Africa has the youngest population in the world, with a median age of 19 years.

“Our youthful population represents an extraordinary opportunity for our continent and the global community,” Lamola said.

The commitments in the Pact, he argued, have to show up in the lives of young Africans through quality education and skills development, access to decent work, entrepreneurship and meaningful participation in public life.

“For SADC, investing in youth is an investment in social cohesion, economic transformation and shared prosperity,” he said.

Lamola was equally direct that the money is the obstacle. Africa needs to close an annual financing gap of 1.3 trillion US dollars to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, he said.

Countries of the Global South face growing pressure on public finances, high borrowing costs and rising climate-related financing needs, he said, and those pressures directly affect their ability to invest in infrastructure, human capital and productive capacity.

That, he said, is why the Pact’s call to reform the global financial architecture matters. South Africa’s G20 Presidency has called for greater debt transparency and accountability from credit rating agencies, and has supported the establishment of a Borrowers’ Club to strengthen the collective voice of indebted nations.

“We attach special importance to the Seville Commitment and to ongoing efforts to strengthen international tax cooperation,” Lamola said.

He described the negotiations towards a UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation as a unique opportunity to support domestic resource mobilisation and to address challenges arising from the international tax system, which he said is essential to delivering the Pact’s priorities.

With the 2028 review in view, Lamola said the emphasis must now move from commitments to implementation.

“As we look towards 2028, our task is to ensure that implementation of the Pact is anchored in concrete action and measurable progress,” he said.

SADC, he said, remains committed to working with the African Union, the UN system, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, member states and other partners to advance the continent’s priorities. Implementation is being pursued through engagement with member states, the UN system, civil society and young people.

Lamola closed by framing the Pact as more than a signed document.

“Let us ensure that the Pact for the Future becomes not only a framework of commitments, but a catalyst for unlocking opportunities for young people and future generations,” he said. That, he added, would require sustained cooperation and a shared commitment to turning Africa’s demographic advantage into inclusive development, economic transformation and shared prosperity.

No implementation timetable, financing commitment or review mechanism beyond the 2028 date was announced at the event.

Source: SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Africa needs action, financing to turn Pact for the Future into opportunities for youth