Gatekeeping as global governance

SINCE its founding in 1999, the G20 has been lauded as a necessary mechanism for global economic and, ultimately, political coordination.

- LORENZO A DAVIDS

With the G7 being the only such body since 1975, it was welcomed as a representative alternative to the G7. However, the G20 has increasingly become a self-serving and protectionist organisation, ensuring that the world's 20 largest economies became gatekeepers to trade and economic growth in Africa, especially. It became a "rich boys' club" that secured the power and position of very wealthy nations and their corporations, causing emerging economies great difficulty in accessing global markets. Access to international markets came with significant limitations. In Ghana, for example, coffee and cocoa exports are under the control of LBCs (licensed buying companies). These often have intricate shareholding arrangements based in Europe, and in some cases, cannot be easily traced. In one case, the chairman and managing director operate their LBC from Switzerland.

There are questions about the G20's current formation, membership and legitimacy. It has been criticised as being weak and selective in what it will do. As in the Ghana coffee and cocoa trade issues, they have established themselves as the Big Brother in global trade, determining who, where, and how emerging economies can trade.

It is governed like a private members' club. Being the world's largest economies, they decide who they will allow in. Their decision-making is always informal and never binding on members. It has resulted in what many scholars call a legitimacy deficit.