By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has noted with concern US president Donald Trump comments that South Africa will not be invited to participate in next year’s G-20 summit in Miami and that he planned to “stop all payments and subsidies” to the country.
In Wednesday’s post, Trump renewed false claims that a white “genocide” was unfolding in South Africa.
South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” Trump said.
“South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately.”
Ramaphosa said in a statement, Trump’s comments were “regrettable” and that his nation “does not appreciate insults from another country about its worth in participating in global platforms.”
“It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the US, President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country,” the statement read.
The US is South Africa’s second largest single-country trading partner, behind China, and business between the two countries is valued at approximately $26.2bn, as of 2024.
But last weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg signalled how dramatically the relationship between the two countries had changed.
The summit was a big deal for Africa as a whole: It was the first time the continent had hosted the G20 leaders.
But while the US is typically a major presence at the G20, this time, the Trump administration decided to boycott the proceedings. Not only did Trump refuse to attend, but he also declined to send any top officials from Washington, DC, to the event.
“It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” he wrote in a post on November 7.
“No U.S. Government Official will attend as long as these Human Rights abuses continue.”
The G20 has traditionally been a meeting ground for leaders from the European Union, the African Union and other major world economies to discuss technology, environmental initiatives and shared financial growth.
Next year, the summit is scheduled to take place in Miami. Traditionally, the host of the G20 summit closes the meeting by banging a gavel and then passing the little wooden hammer to officials from the next country to hold the meeting. But Ramaphosa did not.
Ramaphosa largely avoided addressing the US absence during the G20 conference, instead underscoring his push for global unity and efforts to combat inequality.
“Our G20 Presidency has been rooted in the conviction that the world needs more solidarity, equality and sustainability,” Ramaphosa wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“While some have sought to create division and polarisation between nations, we have reinforced our shared humanity. We have fostered collaboration and goodwill. Above all, we have affirmed that our shared goals outweigh our differences.”
South Africa had been bracing for Trump to block it from the Miami summit, and officials there remain concerned that the US could seek to boot the country entirely from the group.
Any change in membership would require consensus among G-20 nations, as was the case before the 2023 summit in India, when the African Union was admitted as a full member.