Economist Jason Braganza says African countries must sustain efforts to reform global institutions if the continent is to secure greater representation and influence in international decision-making.
Speaking to Radio Generation on Friday, Braganza described the annual United Nations General Assembly as an important platform through which African governments can advance their interests, negotiate with other countries and challenge existing structures of global governance.
The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is currently underway in New York, with the general debate taking place from September 22 to 26 and concluding on September 28.
The UN says nearly 130 heads of state and government are attending the high-level week in person.
The General Assembly brings together all 193 UN member states, with each country having one vote.
It is the UN's principal deliberative and policymaking body and is the only major UN organ in which all member states participate on an equal voting basis.
Braganza said the Assembly therefore provides African leaders with an opportunity to articulate the continent's concerns about its position in the international system, particularly the longstanding campaign for reform of the UN Security Council.
The Security Council was established in 1945 and currently has 15 members — five permanent members and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States hold permanent seats and possess veto powers over substantive decisions.
The economist maintained that the structure reflects the distribution of power at the time the UN was created, when most African countries were still under colonial rule.
Africa's demand for reform is formally captured in the Common African Position, commonly associated with the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration.
The position calls for two permanent seats for Africa, with the same privileges as existing permanent members, including veto rights if the veto is retained, as well as five additional non-permanent seats.
Braganza said the continent's influence should, however, not be measured solely by whether African countries obtain permanent seats on the Security Council.
He pointed to international taxation as one area where African countries have already helped shift negotiations towards the UN.
In 2024, Nigeria, acting on behalf of the African Group, introduced a resolution on inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations.
The General Assembly subsequently adopted the resolution by 119 votes in favour, nine against and 43 abstentions.
The process is aimed at establishing a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation, with the African Group arguing that developing countries should have a stronger role in shaping international tax rules.
“The African continent, led by Ghana, Nigeria, and others, has advanced to have a UN framework convention on international tax cooperation,” Braganza stated.
He also cited illicit financial flows, historical injustices and public debt as areas where African governments are seeking greater influence over international economic governance.
However, Braganza argued that political influence within international institutions is also linked to countries' financial commitments.
“But I think a lot of that comes with money, right? You need to pay up your dues, you need to pay up your subscriptions, you need to increase them.”
UN records show that member states are assessed contributions towards the organisation's regular budget and other obligations, including peacekeeping. Kenya, for example, paid its 2026 regular budget assessment of about $1.18 million in February 2026.
Braganza said Africa's campaign for greater influence should therefore be viewed as a long-term process rather than an immediate transformation of the international system.
“We are getting there. It's incremental. I think every generation of president on the continent has managed to make some inroads into that,” he stressed.
The debate over reform remains active at the United Nations, with member states continuing intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform and questions of equitable geographical representation.
For African countries, the challenge is therefore both institutional and economic: maintaining a common position on global governance reforms while building the financial and diplomatic capacity required to translate that position into greater influence.