EDITORIAL: Ramaphosa’s G20: Grace under pressure
In December last year, South Africa was handed the presidency of the G20, marking the first time the summit will take place on African soil.
It was supposed to be a celebratory moment but was marred by tensions between South Africa and the US. The US openly opposed South Africa’s G20 presidency and its core agenda of solidarity, equality and sustainability.
There has been an ongoing back-and-forth over whether US President Donald Trump would attend the summit since Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa met at the Oval Office in May to address Trump’s false claims that South Africa was expropriating land and engaging in a “white genocide”.
Trump initially agreed to attend, then said he would send his secretary of state. At the beginning of this month he was adamant that the US would boycott the summit altogether. That all changed on Thursday night when the US sent a note saying it would now participate. The latest development means there won’t be an awkward moment when Ramaphosa hands over the baton to the US, which takes over the G20 presidency in December. Plans had been in place for Ramaphosa to ‘hand over the baton’ to an empty chair.
In this week’s Friday Briefing, we reflect on the challenging road South Africa has travelled as chair of the G20.
News24 columnist Dr Mpumelelo Mkhabela details how Trump’s political tantrums over South Africa handed China the global stage.
We also have valuable insight from Unisa’s Professor Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, who examines SA’s quest for global leadership while battling various crises at home.
In our third submission, Ofentse Donald Davhie from the Centre for Risk Analysis explains why criticism of the G20 may be fair but is misdirected in its targeting of South Africa.
Finally, News24’s in-depth writer Muhammad Hussain speaks to G20 Sherpa and Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) director-general Zane Dangor about some of the sticking points that have arisen during discussions prior to the summit.
You can read the submissions below.
The disrupter disrupted: Doing global diplomacy without Trump’s chaos
Mpumelelo Mkhabela argues that some of the constructive innovations adopted under South Africa’s G20 presidency could ensure the summit is a platform for creative disruption in the absence of the world’s leading destructive disrupter.
Read the rest here.
From Zuma’s ruins to summit glory: Can SA reclaim its soft power?
South Africa is attempting to rebuild its damaged international reputation and reclaim its role as Africa’s leading voice through its high-profile hosting of the BRICS and G20 summits but faces the challenge of balancing competing global allegiances while grappling with persistent domestic crises, writes Anthoni van Nieuwkerk.
Read the resthere.
Why criticism of SA’s G20 presidency misses the real problem
South Africa is not responsible for the G20’s sprawl. It is hosting when years of accumulated commitments reach their final stop in the rotation. The criticism may be fair, but it is misdirected, writes Ofentse Donald Davhie.
Read the rest here.
Q&A with G20 SA Sherpa Zane Dangor | Argentina is ‘incredibly flexible’ in negotiations
On Tuesday, a day before the G20 Sherpa meeting concluded its negotiations on the leaders’ declaration or possible chair statement text, the director-general of Dirco, Zane Dangor, spoke to News24 about the progress made so far.
Read the rest here.
