After the G20: The mirror South Africa can no longer look away from

SOUTH Africa once again occupied the global stage, not as a country in crisis but as host of one of the most complex diplomatic gatherings on earth.

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THE G20 Leaders' Summit was held in Johannesburg.

(THABO MAKWAKWA IOL News)

For two days, the G20 Leaders Summit unfolded on African soil forthe first time in history and the world watched a nation that has often been defined by its fractures reveal a different face: composed, disciplined, coherent and globally respected. This was more than logistics or protocol. It was a rare glimpse into the South Africa we are capable of being.

Globally, the summit took place during deep geopolitical division. Major powers entered into disagreement on fundamental issues, yet South Africa delivered unity where paralysis had become the norm. Domestically, we continue to wrestle with unemployment, inequality, uneven service delivery and institutional fatigue. Yet for two days, South Africa offered the world stability anchored in dignity, leadership in restraint and diplomacy in maturity. It showed a version of itself that many citizens have not experienced in years.

That capability was visible in the quality of our security arrangements, the movement of delegations, coordination across departments and the firmness with which we negotiated positions inside the summit.

South Africa, at its lowest institutional moment in decades, still managed to produce a G20 performance that reflected dignity, statesmanship, coherence and capability even while the country itself is fractured.

The South African state is fragile, but South African statecraft is still formidable. Our domestic reality is fractured, but our global posture remains dignified, coherent and principled. This contradiction, that we can rise in the moment even when things are broken at home, is one of the most powerful and dangerous truths about our democracy.