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A reply to a Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary question has revealed that South Africa’s budget for the forthcoming G20 Summit, which South Africa will host in 2025, currently sits at approximately R700 million pending approval by National Treasury. The cost breakdown as it stands is R194 million for the Leader’s Summit, and R497 million for the Sherpa Track meetings held by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, which oversee negotiations, set the summit’s agenda, and coordinate most of its work.

South Africa’s G20 Budget is modest at best in comparison to other developing nations such as India, whose budget to host the G20 Summit in 2023 is, as it stands, approximately R1 billion, pending outstanding appropriations which could push the figure even higher. While South Africa is not necessarily obligated to match the budgets of previous summits, the current allocation indicates that comparatively we are not competitive with our developing counterparts on the international stage.

We call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to partner with the private sector to obtain finance and support to plug any potential budgetary shortfalls, to ensure that South Africa can host a world class G20 Summit and showcase the best of our country to the world and the international community. South Africa’s G20 Summit must be a success, while not negatively impacting the fiscus or placing further pressure on an already overburdened taxbase.

The reality is that the mismanagement of the South African economy under the African National Congress (ANC) over the past two decades has not only stifled economic growth and slashed domestic budgets, but now also inhibits our country from executing its international and diplomatic obligations. It is imperative that the South African economy, under the Government of National Unity, recovers and grows to ensure that South Africa can maintain its diplomatic weight in the international arena.

The DA will be submitting a comprehensive list of expected outcomes for South Africa from the G20 Summit to President Cyril Ramaphosa in the coming weeks, to ensure that the money spent on the Summit provides tangible benefits to the South African people by means of increased trade, job creation, and economic growth fostered by closer bilateral and multilateral agreements with member states.

The G20 is perhaps the most crucial international forum for South Africa as it holistically combines the interests of both the developed and developing worlds into a comprehensive international agenda for sustainable global development. As the DA, we look forward to welcoming our G20 colleagues to our shores as the sole African member state of the union, and we anticipate championing Africa’s interests in the negotiations without placing undue pressure on the national fiscus and the South African taxpayer.

Issued by Ryan Smith MP - DA Deputy Spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation