By S'thembile Cele and Matthew Hill South Africa told the Paris Club that it won’t seek full membership of the group of mostly rich-nation creditors, as it focuses on its involvement in a United Nations-backed coalition of borrower countries instead.

The government of Africa’s biggest economy has moved to align itself with the Global Borrowers’ Platform — which describes itself as a “a borrower-led space to share knowledge and amplify their collective voice” — that officially began operating in April.

“In June this year, South Africa informed the Paris Club that it would continue its engagement with the institution as an ad-hoc participant, rather than pursue full membership at this time, noting its active engagement with the newly launched Global Borrowers’ Platform,” the National Treasury said in response to questions on Monday.

South Africa had been a prospective member of the Paris Club since 2022, and has been an active participant in debt-restructuring cases that the group worked on, including as the vice-chair of the Official Creditor Committee for Zambia.

The copper-rich nation opted to use the Group of 20 Common Framework as a guideline for reworking its debt, after becoming Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter in 2020.

“South Africa remains committed to constructive engagement with the Paris Club and continues to participate in discussions on international debt issues, including through the official creditor committees established under the G20 Common Framework,” the Treasury said.

“The necessary and urgent reform of the international financial architecture, as well as that of international financial institutions, to better support developing countries who bear the disproportionate impact of debt distress and fractured mechanisms for debt resolution, continues to guide our participation in various platforms geared to this end,” it said.