Kenya’s Fight Inequality Alliance Demands G20 Economic Justice for All

By Jean-Pierre A.

Ahead of the G20 Summit that will take place in South Africa, the Fight Inequality Alliance Kenya (FIA Kenya) has urged world leaders, who will be meeting for the first time in Africa, to put people and the planet before profits.

The Alliance, which brings together Kenyan civil society, grassroots movements, and community organisations, is calling on both global and national leaders to take bold steps to deliver economic justice for everyone, not just the “privileged” few.

This year, the G20 Summit is scheduled for 22–23 November in Johannesburg, South Africa. The G20 members include the world’s major economies, representing 85 percent of global Gross Domestic Product, over 75 percent of international trade, and about two-thirds of the world’s population.

According to FIA Kenya, the G20 continues to operate within an economic framework that deepens inequality rather than confronting it. “The current state of inequality in Kenya is a crisis fueled by unjust global policies and weak domestic accountability,” stated FIA Kenya in a press release issued after a media briefing in Nairobi, Kenya.

Speaking after a press conference, Brenda Osoro, the National Coordinator and lead spokesperson of FIA Kenya, said that the decisions the G20 makes affect Kenya in several ways. Osoro cited examples including debt, open markets, and climate.

“When it comes to debt, the G20 has a lot of influence on the IMF and the World Bank, and these are the primary lenders to Kenya,” she explained.

“When we are looking for loans and extra funds to fill our budget deficits, we go to the IMF and the World Bank, which have already been influenced by the G20,” the FIA spokesperson added. “All these austerity measures we are receiving as conditions for loans come from the IMF and the World Bank.”

As Kenya participates in the G20 Summit in South Africa, FIA Kenya urges leaders and decision-makers to listen to the real stories and struggles of the people, the organisation said in its call to action.

FIA Kenya argues that although Kenya is viewed as one of Africa’s emerging economies, the benefits of growth remain highly unequal. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, about 36 percent of Kenyans live below the national poverty line, while millions face unstable employment, rising costs, and limited access to essential services.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is an international forum of both developing and developed countries that seeks to find solutions to global economic and financial challenges.

According to FIA Kenya, the East African nation’s wealth is increasingly concentrated among a small elite. Kenya’s public debt stands at approximately USD 92 billion, about 67.8 percent of GDP, meaning that nearly half of every shilling collected goes to creditors rather than Kenyan families.

Kenya’s economic justice group has outlined five key proposals to address inequality at both global and national levels. These include a comprehensive public debt audit and the creation of an African debt negotiation platform to ensure that no country spends more on lenders than on citizens; progressive taxation on wealth and luxury goods; and a global UN tax convention to guarantee corporations pay taxes where they operate.

FIA Kenya also recommends the prioritisation and expansion of public services, reforming corporate tax incentives to support small enterprises, and strengthening citizen participation in budget and debt decisions—so that democracy does not end at the ballot.

The Alliance concludes by emphasizing that “inequality is a global crisis rooted in policy choices that can be undone with political will, courage, and solidarity.” It calls on the G20 to move beyond rhetoric and adopt transformative reforms that center human dignity and economic fairness.