The G20, which held its annual summit in Johannesburg last weekend, has reached a crossroads. After President Cyril Ramaphosa’s triumphant summit closing on Sunday, it has now emerged that we have been disinvited from next year’s summit — which, as a member of the group, we are entitled to attend.
After US President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping about the Johannesburg gathering — first foreign minister Marco Rubio was going to attend, then no US official would go, and then the acting ambassador would drop in as a formality in the dying moments of the event — he now says South Africa will be persona non grata at next year’s summit in Miami.
He wanted to wreck the Nasrec summit, but failed dismally as the rest of the G20 leaders produced a declaration in record time, ignoring Trump’s demand that no declaration be issued in his self-imposed absence.
The sulking one now says: “South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20.”
He wanted to wreck the Nasrec summit, but failed dismally as the rest of the G20 leaders produced a declaration in record time, ignoring Trump’s demand that no declaration be issued in his self-imposed absence
To rub salt into his wounded ego, South Africa refused to elevate to accredited-delegate status the lowly embassy official who Trump sent at the last minute to receive the G20 presidency baton at the end of the summit. Instead, the handover of the rotating presidency to the US took place at an unpublicised event at the department of international relations & co-operation. The cheek!
The retaliation was the disinvite. What does the exclusion of South Africa mean? Can a founding member, who has been there since 1999 when the gathering still only involved finance ministers and governors of central banks, be disinvited through a social media posting for standing up to the Israeli bully who continues to butcher Palestinians in a genocidal campaign?
The case at the International Court of Justice is the only real “crime” South Africa has committed. The other lies about an imaginary genocide in this country are just that, blue lies. And that is why the other leaders ignored the ranting from the Oval Office.
But the test now is the disinvite of a member. And that test is not one for South Africa to deal with, but for the rest of the G20 member states to take on. If Trump’s position stands, will they boycott the summit, or send embassy staff?
Ramaphosa has called for solidarity and for his fellow G20 members to defend “the integrity” of the group and “the rights of all its member states”. In other words, tell Trump he can’t do that.
Some G20 leaders will probably suggest to Trump, once his rage at being slighted by the uppity state from Afrika has abated a little, that he reconsider. But what if he doesn’t?
It is clear that Trump badly wants to host the summit — after all, it will be held on his own property, the Trump National Doral golf resort. As is often the case with Trump, official business is accompanied by a financial reward. It is akin to Ramaphosa staging the G20 summit at Phala Phala.
Will the temptation of ringing tills prevail if Trump is faced with a boycott threat, and lead to a rethink on his part? Or will he wield the tariff penalty again against anyone who is a no-show? Will the rest of the G20 states stand up for a principle, or will they fold and tell South Africa to put its G20 role on ice until the UK takes over in 2027?
We should feel proud that we are on the right side of history and acting in solidarity with those in need. We are being punished for daring to call out the brutes in Tel Aviv who, through the financial muscle of their backers in the US, wag the tail of the big dog in the White House. The tariffs on our exports are another manifestation of how our stand has irked Trump.
The big test of whether our fellow G20 members have a backbone will arrive when the US starts convening side meetings ahead of the main event in December 2026. When South Africa is barred from sending representatives, how will they react? We will find out soon enough.
Meanwhile, perhaps we should look ahead to London 2027.
- Tsedu is a former editor of the Sunday Times
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