Finance Minister heads to G20 in Washington despite US tensions

Despite the recent spat between South Africa and the US, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago are set to visit Washington for a G20 meeting. 

The trip, scheduled for April 23-24, will take place on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings.

The visit comes at a time when relations between the two countries have been strained due to several policy issues under US President Donald Trump's administration. 

Trump has been critical of SA, cutting aid funding and falsely claiming that white people were being persecuted in the country. 

He also expelled South Africa's ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, over remarks Rasool made about the Trump administration.

Trump also recently announced reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including a 30% tax for SA, however later reversed the decision for three months keeping 10% duties on the country.

To add fuel to the fire, Trump took to his Truth Social platform at the weekend, reiterating his reluctance to attend the G20 summit, citing allegations of genocide against SA’s Afrikaners.

Despite these tensions, Godongwana's spokesperson, Mfuneko Toyana, confirmed that the team, including Kganyago, has received their visas and is preparing to leave for the US on Easter Sunday. 

"Everything is on track. I can confirm to you that we have not noticed any red flags regarding the minister's trip to the US…his visa is ready and should be ready to leave on Easter Sunday," Toyana said.

The G20 meeting will bring together finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 member countries, invited countries, and international organisations to discuss global economic challenges, financial stability, and policies aimed at fostering economic growth. 

As the G20 presidency is currently under South Africa's leadership, Godongwana will co-chair the meeting with Kganyago.

In a bid to mend the severely fractured relations between SA and the US, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas as Special Envoy to the US. However, experts have warned that Jonas could face similar treatment to Rasool due to his previous stance on Trump, where he labeled the US president as a "racist and homophobe" in 2020.

Toyana dismissed concerns about Jonas facing the same fate as Rasool, citing the smooth treatment Godongwana received in applying for his visa. "It's highly unlikely that he would have the same fate as Rasool," Toyana said.

In a statement on Monday, the Treasury department said: “Under South Africa's G20 presidency, the country aims to advance an African agenda and strengthen the manner in which the G20 responds to the social and economic needs of the continent. To achieve this, a G20 Africa Expert Panel will be established to support the G20 Finance Track. The panel will comprise leading African economic, development, and finance experts from the public sector, think tanks, academia, and international financial institutions.

“The G20 Africa Expert Panel will advise on how to ensure that various African initiatives, including the Compact with Africa, can be strengthened to benefit the continent. South Africa's presidency theme: 'Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability' reflects the country's commitment to working together to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth.”

Reports have been rife that the G20 summit to be held in Johannesburg later this year was hanging by a thread over Trump's reluctance to attend.

Senior fellow at a US think-tank the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Michael Walsh told Business Report that Trump was signalling that he valued the G20 as an important international forum for the US, however was not prepared to attend it.

He warned that SA’s chosen themes for the G20 Presidency - solidarity, equality, and sustainability - had put it in “direct confrontation” with the Trump administration's strategic priorities.

He warned that Trump could take an option to remove SA from the G20 saying there were two ways that SA could lose its seat at the G20 table. 

“The first is that its membership could be suspended or terminated by the other members. That could happen for a wide range of reasons (e.g. meritocracy; State sponsor of terrorism designation). The second is that the G20 could cease to exist as an international forum,” Walsh said. 

“Since the Trump administration values individuality and values meritocracy, you basically have opened up the opportunity to put these things into play. If the Government of South Africa lost its seat at the table, then South Africa would become more politically and economically disconnected from the US and other Western countries.”

Cape Times