Ramaphosa's G19 opportunity

In the absence of US participation, the SA president could lead like-minded nations towards a new consensus

- Natale Labia

Is there anything left of the G20? For the second time this year, the world's most powerful finance ministers gathered in South Africa.

But one person was once again conspicuous by his absence: Scott Bessent, the mercurial US Treasury secretary, skipped the G20 again this week, continuing the boycott of South Africa’s leadership. Instead, Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury, attended.

The snub started when Secretary of State Marco Rubio refused to participate due to the host’s vision of this year’s G20 presidency being about “solidarity, equality and sustainability”, principles which the US administration theatrically rejects.

As the first country from Africa to host the G20, South Africa had hoped to push issues vital for the very developing nations that stand to lose the most from US President Donald Trump's trade war. With US aid budgets cut practically into nonexistence and tariffs about to decimate the export industries that, until now, had been the only hope for small African developing countries to build some semblance of a manufacturing sector, South Africa now finds itself managing the wreckage of international consensus.