The Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) and more than 180 organisations from the Global South and international allies, has issued a powerful open letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the final G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Durban (17–18 July). The coalition calls for radical restructuring of global economic rules, with bold action on taxing the super-rich, cancelling unjust debts, and overhauling the financial system to prioritise people and the planet.

Download the Open Letter here: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese

Coordinated by the Fight Inequality Alliance, the joint appeal is a direct challenge to G20 leaders to end the era of billionaires and build an equitable global economy.

“People across the world are no longer waiting for world leaders to fix the inequality crisis. They are drawing a red line to the era of billionaires,” the letter declares.

A Call for Structural Transformation

GCAP and its partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, argue that the inequality and climate crises are the result of systemic injustice that privileges a small section of elites while pushing billions into poverty. With South Africa hosting the G20 presidency — the first time the summit is held on African soil — civil society groups say the moment is ripe for a historic shift in global economic governance.

The letter warns of the neocolonial underpinnings of the global financial architecture, which forces countries in the Global South to choose between repaying unjust debts or funding schools, hospitals, and climate-resilient infrastructure. More than 3.4 billion people live in nations trapped in this cycle of debt and underinvestment.

Three Urgent Demands for the G20

The coalition urges President Ramaphosa to use his leadership to press the G20 to act on the following:

1. Tax the super-rich – Introduce progressive taxation to redistribute wealth and fund essential public services.
2. Cancel illegitimate debts – Free countries from debt burdens that obstruct investment in human development and environmental protection.
3. Reform global financial rules – Create a just, inclusive financial system that puts people and the planet above corporate profits.

Time for Bold Leadership

With G20 finance ministers convening for their final meeting before the November leaders’ summit, civil society stresses that half-measures and rhetoric will no longer suffice. The call is backed by grassroots organisations, economists, legal experts and even some millionaires advocating for wealth taxation.

“This Presidency of the G20 held for the fourth year in a row in the Global South – and now for the first time on African soil – brings the neocolonial nature of the global finance architecture into sharp view,” the letter states.

Now is the time for decisive leadership that will be remembered as a turning point in the fight against inequality and climate injustice.

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