South Africa’s G20 moment exposes deep cracks at home and abroad

OUR COUNTRY is not in the space it should be in. As a host of G20 we would have loved to be a shining star that had dealt poverty a blow, a place where corruption was dealt with firmly, where children have a brighter future, taps are not only running but are oozing label blue water, with smooth streets, where women feel safe, and children are assured of a meal daily.

- PALI LEHOHLA

This is the South Africa dreamed of and this is the sacrifice Mandela and his cohorts made.

Yet the reality is the Madlanga Commission and the streets ooze raw sewerage, while unemployment of the youth is north of 62%. With hope for the SDGs, South Africa is no where closer to the goals as it regresses.

But the day the tantrum of Trump caused him to trample, stumble out of the G20 Trampoline and dropped hard and hung on the sharp horns of the buffalo for the world to see, might just be the big trigger for sustained change. A memory lane of such comparator makes interesting. The lane is about a decision sponsored by South Africa's Trevor Manuel when he was minister of finance.

He led the rationalization of the caravan of separate economic summits that ministers had to attend annually. These were meetings of the African Union on the one hand and on the other the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.They had the same agenda. These separate summits discussed the same agenda and there was no reason for a caravan of up to three summits when one would suffice.

Under Executive Secretary Abdulae Janneh and African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare the decision of joint meetings was taken. Progress was made.