How South Africa Stepped Up: G20 Praise, Africa’s Voice, and the Push for Real Reform

South Africa’s G20 Moment: Praise, Pressure and a Push for Real Change

A Summit on African Soil and a Spotlight on SA

South Africa stepped onto the world stage this week with an achievement many on the continent have long hoped to see: the first G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted on African soil.
And by the time the delegates boarded their flights home, one thing was clear, South Africa didn’t just host; it led.

Despite the United States attempting to block parts of the agreement, all member states ultimately adopted the G20 Summit Declaration unanimously. For a divided world grappling with wars, inflation, climate threats and polarised politics, that united outcome was no small feat.

At home, public sentiment on social platforms was a mix of national pride, “Finally Africa setting the agenda instead of reacting to it,” one user wrote and scepticism about whether declarations ever translate into real-world change. Both feelings are warranted.

A Win, But Not a Free Pass

Experts say the Summit produced key wins for developing nations, especially when it comes to financial stability.
Fiscal policy specialist Shillyboy Mothiba highlighted a major concern raised by Africa Expert Panel co-chair Trevor Manuel: the dangerous volatility of emerging market currencies.

Manuel’s worry isn’t academic. Many African governments borrow heavily in foreign currencies, yet their economies remain vulnerable to global shocks outside their control. When the rand or any African currency swings downward, the cost of servicing dollar- or euro-denominated debt skyrockets.

And the painful truth?
Countries end up spending more on debt and emergency services than on people, infrastructure or growth a cycle many Africans know far too well.

#COSATU is participating in the gathering of civil society and non-governmental stakeholders at the #G20 Social Summit at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre, in the City of Ekurhuleni, from today, the 18 – 20 Nov.#G20SocialSA2025@g20org @SAfmRadio @CathyMohlahlana pic.twitter.com/1QydkODr0j

@COSATU Today (@_cosatu) November 18, 2025

Labour Voices Push for a People-Centred G20

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) was quick to praise South Africa’s approach, noting that this year’s G20 wasn’t just political theatre.

Matthew Parks, Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator, said the process continued the precedent set by Brazil: bring workers, businesses and civil society into the fold.

His critique was sharp but fair global summits can’t just be shiny coffee-table gatherings of presidents.
They need to speak to unemployment on the ground, to communities struggling with rising costs, and to growing inequality a word South Africans understand on an almost visceral level.

And that’s why SA’s G20 theme, solidarity, struck a chord.
Not just solidarity among nations, but solidarity between rich and poor, between North and South a direct challenge to a world order that too often leaves developing nations fighting from behind.

#SAMWU calls on #G20 global leaders in the #G20GlobalSummit to cover aspects that specifically seek to address the economic and social issues of the working class and the poor, ensuring that global progress translates into local upliftment. @g20org @ilo @MorningLiveSABC pic.twitter.com/9sFfhynzR3

@COSATU Today (@_cosatu) November 21, 2025

Energy Shifts: A New Opportunity for SA

One of the strongest signals from the summit came from the energy sector.
Impower energy analyst Matthew Cruise noted that the G20’s collective commitment to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030 could be transformative.

Europe has already allocated €15.1 billion to Africa for renewable energy projects. And as Africa’s most industrialised economy and one of its most coal-dependent, South Africa is expected to receive a significant share of that funding.

For a country suffocating under load shedding and ageing coal plants, this represents not only relief, but reinvention.

What This Means for the World and for SA

Hosting the G20 was more than a diplomatic milestone. It was a statement of African capability and agency.

But there’s another side to the story:
The same experts who applauded the summit also warned that declarations alone won’t solve deep global inequality, or shield fragile economies from debt crises, or speed up energy transitions already decades behind.

Still, in a time of global fracturing, South Africa managed to bring the world’s biggest players into one room and walk out with consensus.

That counts for something.

A Closing Message

Ending the two-day summit, President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke about unity and collective action.
It was a familiar message, but in the context of this historic gathering, it landed differently.

For once, Africa wasn’t simply responding to global decisions.
It was shaping them.

{Source: SABC News}

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