G20 tensions rise as US accused of exploiting Mandela's legacy

The US has been accused of exploiting the legacy and name of the late former president Nelson Mandela to advance its own interests. 

This was after the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced the US's intention to form a “New G20”, which includes a plan to invite Poland as a new member and exclude South Africa from the 2026 summit. 

In the statement issued on Wednesday night, Rubio invoked Mandela’s name to criticise the current South African government’s policies. 

He stated that “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. Sadly, Mandela's successors have replaced reconciliation with redistributionist policies”.

Rubio further criticised the current ANC-led government, saying it has turned its back on just about every ideal that Mandela once stood for.

However, political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the statement is inaccurate in its portrayal of Mandela, adding that interest groups sought to misrepresent and appropriate Mandela to advance their interests. 

“The US statement regarding the former president Nelson Mandela is far off the mark. Interest groups have sought to misrepresent and appropriate Mandela to advance their own interests. The US administration is no different,” he said. 

Rubio said Poland, a nation that was once trapped behind the Iron Curtain but now ranks among the world’s 20 largest economies, will be joining them to assume its rightful place in the G20, 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. 

“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,” said Rubio.

He added that the ANC 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.

He said South African relationships with Iran, its entertainment of Hamas sympathisers, and cozying to America’s greatest adversaries move it from the family of nations they once called close.

Seepe said the US is acting on its promise, adding that it would be interesting to see how “Ramaphosa’s administration” will react after “standing on the rooftop” and claiming that South Africa would not be bullied. 

“It seems that the US has gone further to not only bully it but to boot it out of the G20. The time for SA's grandstanding seems to be coming to a halt,” said Seepe. 

Another political analyst, Zakhele Ndlovu, said the US is clear that South Africa has lost the plot and that there is some truth in what it is saying.

“I still maintain that South Africa is being punished for the decision of taking Israel to the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and its anti-American posture. It is also a fact that the ANC government inherited an excellent infrastructure and enjoyed global goodwill.

“Today, our infrastructure is decaying, and we have lost the global goodwill we used to enjoy. It is also a fact that the ANC has presided over a Mafia state where corruption is the order of the day or business as usual,” Ndlovu said. 

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa told the media at Cosatu’s 2nd annual charity golf fundraiser that South Africa is a fully fledged member of the G20 and should be treated as an equal, sovereign nation that fosters the success and prosperity of other nations.

He said the government is yet to receive formal communication from the US regarding its exclusion from the G20. 

manyane.manyane@inl.co.za