SBU MKHWANAZI | The legacy of the G20 lives on in our hearts, minds, and insurance

The first ever G20 on African soil has come and gone, but it seems like there are already remnants of its legacy popping up in our daily lives. When the world’s most powerful leaders convene for such an important event, the host country is never left the same.

Thanks to Africa Speciality Risks (ASR), backed by the venerable Lloyd’s of London, South Africa now boasts a niche insurance provider that covers incidents such as hippo and elephant attacks.

According to some sources, hippos kill about 500 people a year in Africa out of an African population of 1.55-billion people. That’s 0.0000323%, by the way. And yet, because South Africa hosted heads of states, their chiefs of staff and their entourages, we now have insurance that covers hippo and elephant attacks. Let’s be honest, the 500 people who generally come in between hippos and waterways generally tend to have euros and dollars in their wallets.

In a country like ours, where human-animal interactions aren’t always tourist-friendly photo opportunities but real-world hazards, niche insurance is a kind of pragmatism that feels overdue. As ASR’s CEO Mikir Shah told reporters, their aim is to bring “Lloyd’s capacity” closer to African realities so that local farmers, game-reserve operators and even municipal authorities don’t have to jump through the usual bureaucratic hoops to get meaningful cover.

For me, it’s the soothing hum of global capital rubbing shoulders with the thundering footsteps of Africa’s wild.

So yes, the same global system that debates debt relief, climate justice and mineral trade deals at G20 summits now has your back when a rogue tusker decides a farmer’s crops look tasty. For me, it’s the soothing hum of global capital rubbing shoulders with the thundering footsteps of Africa’s wild.

There’s something subversively funny about this whole G20 situation, and I mean this with love. Only in South Africa could the global elite gather to talk about net-zero by 2050, critical minerals deals, and debt forgiveness while one of the headline takeaways ends up being “now you can insure against elephant rampages”. It’s the kind of party trick that speaks more to our lived contradictions than to G20 communiqués.

And we all know that the same world leaders aren’t immune from corruption, scandals and skeletons in their closets.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been widely criticised for threatening media freedom under her government; French president Emmanuel Macron was shoved by his wife in front of international media; and Li Qiang, Premier of the People’s Republic of China, continues to be criticised for human rights violations. I wonder if ASR’s leadership is considering adding niche insurance cover for politicians … and wayward businesspeople, like Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Somewhere in Pretoria, behind prison bars, he was once whispered about in the same breath as tenders, influencers and questionable friendships with powerful people. But now, I bet he wishes he could claim from a custom insurance policy, with the payout seeing him being a free man again. In the meantime, his bail appeal has once again been denied, and he’s giving testimony from jail under high-alert lockdown conditions.

A hippo may crush your bakkie, but it takes a very special kind of South African chaos for parliament to pack up its laptops, take attendance, and follow a witness into prison for a hearing. ASR, if you’re reading this: is there cover for political turbulence, or do we just pray and hope SA Revenue Service doesn’t ask questions?

And to turn our attention to a delinquent of a different type, the Democratic Alliance had to confiscate John Steenhuisen’s company credit card, all because the man was famished, and he maxed it out on Uber Eats.

Imagine explaining that to a Lloyd’s actuary in London: “Yes, sir, that’s correct. Not flood damage. Not property loss. Just a politician repeatedly purchasing McFlurries at 11pm”. If wild-animal insurance protects rural South Africans from elephants, “Uber Eats Maxxing Cover™” might protect political parties from midnight cravings. That’s a different kind of national security.

Despite what cynical naysayers like myself think of the G20, it wasn’t all bad.

While the rest of the country fights court cases, credit cards and crocodile-adjacent livestock theft, Joburg has decided that it will be the first city in Africa where you can order an electric Uber. This was just in time for the summit.

That’s right: a silent, smooth electric vehicle (EV) will pull up next to your gate, hum politely, and whisk you away to whatever destination you choose. EV Ubers in Joburg feel like a small but mighty piece of the G20’s climate-action legacy. A whisper of progress. A glimmer of hope. A miracle in a city where half the robots are out and the other half are being stolen for scrap.

At this rate, we’ll need insurance not only for hippos but for potholes that have grown so large they qualify as natural water features. Oh wait, all of Joburg’s problems were fixed just for the G20 weekend gathering. Sorry.

The 2025 G20 Johannesburg Summit reminded the world that Africa – not just as a victim of climate change or economic inequality, but as a place with real needs, with its own brand of risk – deserves a seat at the global table. And now, perhaps, those needs are beginning to be translated into products that reflect life on the ground.

So yes, the next time you hear about climate declarations, mineral-processing deals, or debt-relief frameworks from the G20, remember this: somewhere in Sandton, someone is busy underwriting a policy that says, “In case of rogue elephants, we got you.” And maybe, just maybe, that’s the kind of weird, wonderful legacy that truly belongs to this African-hosted summit.