Developed countries have been making big commitments to help developing countries, but have failed to act, Minister in the Presidency Trevor Manuel said on Thursday.

"In general, these commitments have been ignored," Manuel said at the globalisation and governance conference in Johannesburg.

"This has led to a breakdown of trust and a high degree of cynicism about rich countries' efforts to help tackle issues like poverty."

He said that heads of states signed global commitments such as helping with the fight against poverty, climate change and the development of Africa.

"Big decisions are taken, but there has been no action or very little movement towards realising the pledges in many countries."

The challenge in removing global economic imbalances and inequality was in relation to ethics of governance.

Global financial institutions like the World Bank, World Trade Organisation, and International Monetary Fund (IMF), were dominated by developed countries.

He said that the IMF head had always been European and the World Bank had always been an American citizen.

As a way forward to reform the institutions, broader participation was essential.

Leadership selection processes should be reformed and accountability strengthened.