By Thobile Jiwulane:
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has lambasted the South African government, as earlier led by the ANC, for having ditched Mandela’s legacy of reconciliation, which he claims the ANC government replaced with “redistributionist” policies that discouraged investors and caused the talented to flee.
Rubio is more pointed and scathing than Trump
Rubio joins President Donald Trump in criticising South Africa for its internal policies aimed at addressing apartheid inspired racial inequality.
Rubio was announcing America’s plan for the G20, of which the US is the new president for 2026. The US took over from South Africa, which hosted the G20 Leaders Summit last month.
Trump boycotted the summit, claiming South Africa violates the rights of the minority white population – a claim that South Africa vehemently denied as misinformation.
Trump is believed to be fed misinformation by right-wing white supremacist groupings who frequently post the exact same allegations on social media and copy them to Trump and his officials’ accounts for them to project publicly. Trump uses the same terms to attack South Africa in his posts on X and in public speeches and media interviews.
The tale of two summits
Rubio contrasted South Africa’s G20 hosting in 2025 to the upcoming hosting of the same international conference in 2026 by the US. He said the 2026 G20 will be a chance to recognise the values of innovation, entrepreneurship, and perseverance that made America great, and the meeting will provide a roadmap to prosperity for the entire world.
He promised that they will showcase these values and more during the hosting of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in December 2026 in Miami, Florida. Under President Trump’s leadership, the G20 will use four working groups to achieve progress on three key themes: removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovation. The event coincides with America’s 250th anniversary.
2026 G20: A roadmap to prosperity for the entire world
According to Rubio, the 2026 G20 will be a chance to recognise the values of innovation, entrepreneurship, and perseverance that made America great, and which provide a roadmap to prosperity for the entire world. “We’ll showcase these values and more when we host the G20 Leaders’ Summit in December 2026 in one of America’s greatest cities, Miami, Florida.
Trump’s G20 presidency will use four working groups to achieve progress on three key themes: removing regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovation. The first Sherpa and Finance Track meetings will be held in Washington, DC, on December 15-16, followed by a series of meetings throughout 2026.
Trump will lead the way, but will be selective about his guest list
As the global economy confronts the changes driven by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and shakes off ideological preoccupations around green energy, the President is prepared to lead the way. “We will be inviting friends, neighbours, and partners to the American G20. We will welcome the world’s largest economies, as well as burgeoning partners and allies, to America’s table,” Rubio said.
On South Africa, Rubio further said the contrast with South Africa, host of this year’s G20, is stark. South Africa entered the post-Cold War era with strong institutions, excellent infrastructure, and global goodwill.
It possessed many of the world’s most valuable resources, some of the best agricultural land on the planet, and was located around one of the world’s key trading routes. And in Nelson Mandela, South Africa had a leader who understood that reconciliation and private sector-driven economic growth were the only path to a nation where every citizen could prosper.
ANC has substituted Mandela’s reconciliation
“Sadly, Mandela’s successors have replaced reconciliation with redistributionist policies that discouraged investment and drove South Africa’s most talented citizens abroad. Racial quotas have crippled the private sector, while corruption bankrupts the state.
“The numbers speak for themselves. As South Africa’s economy has stagnated under its burdensome regulatory regime driven by racial grievance, and it falls firmly outside the group of the 20 largest industrialised economies,” Rubio said.
SA is scapegoating whites and the US
He added: “Rather than take responsibility for its failings, the radical ANC-led South African government has sought to scapegoat its own citizens and the United States.”
As President Trump has rightly highlighted, the South African government’s appetite for racism and tolerance for violence against its Afrikaner citizens has become embedded as core domestic policies.
ANC enriching itself, SA economy limps
It seems intent on enriching itself while the country’s economy limps along, all while South Africans are subject to violence, discrimination, and land confiscation without compensation. Its former Ambassador to the United States was openly hostile to America. Its relationships with Iran, its entertainment of Hamas sympathisers, and cosying up to America’s greatest adversaries move it from the family of nations we once called close.
“The politics of grievance carried over to South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 this month, which was an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas that have nothing to do with economic growth.”
An agenda that annoys Trump
The US voiced its disapproval of the agenda and outcomes of the G20 that South Africa hosted last month in Johannesburg – issues that the Trump administration objects to as part of its policy.
Rubio said South Africa focused on climate change, diversity and inclusion, and aid dependency as central tenets of its working groups. It routinely ignored U.S. objections to consensus communiques and statements.
It blocked the U.S. and other countries’ inputs into negotiations. It actively ignored our reasonable faith efforts to negotiate. It doxed U.S. officials working on these negotiations. It fundamentally tarnished the G20’s reputation.
South Africa will not be invited
“For these reasons, President Trump and the United States will not be extending an invitation to the South African government to participate in the G20 during our presidency. There is a place for good faith disagreement, but not dishonesty or sabotage.
“The United States supports the people of South Africa, but not its radical ANC-led government, and will not tolerate its continued behaviour. When South Africa decides it has made the tough decisions needed to fix its broken system and is ready to rejoin the family of prosperous and free nations, the United States will have a seat for it at our table. Until then, America will be forging ahead with a new G20.” – @NewsSA-Online
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