He also expresses frustration at the US government’s boycott of this week’s summit in Johannesburg, saying the multilateral system is ‘broken’.
Trevor Manuel – South Africa’s former finance minister, who chairs insurer Old Mutual and the Africa Expert Panel contributing to this year’s G20 – raised concerns on Wednesday that SA faces the prospect of not being invited to the next G20 in Miami in 2026.
“It’s not a nice thing to be told that you’re not welcome in Miami at the G20 next year,” said Manuel. He added that “when you break traditions in this way, it has a profound impact”.
His comments came the same day the Trump administration sent an official warning to SA not to issue a joint declaration at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg this weekend, as tensions between the two countries escalated.
Manuel was speaking during the opening plenary session of the B20 conference in Sandton, where he also expressed frustration at the US government’s boycott of the G20 Summit in SA, saying the multilateral system is “broken”.
President Donald Trump instructed US government officials just two weeks ago not to attend the SA summit, which is being hosted in Africa for the first time. For months Trump has said he won’t come for the event, but until recently his deputy JD Vance was expected.
Trump has upped his political barrage on SA ahead of the 2025 event, with his latest remarks about “policies on the extermination of people” coming on Tuesday.
These are linked to Trump’s repeated but unsubstantiated claims of a “white genocide” against Afrikaners in SA.
While Manuel has not been part of the SA government for over a decade, he is an ally of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who included him on the Africa Expert Panel of the SA G20 Presidency.
Later, when asked about his comments around SA potentially being excluded from the next G20 Summit in Miami, Manuel said his remarks are based not only on Trump’s comments and attacks, but those of Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary.
ALSO READ: US warns South Africa over G20 joint declaration as tensions simmer
Just this week, Bessent remarked in the Oval Office with Trump that the G20 “had basically become the G100” and should reduce in size to be more effective.
Both Trump and Bessent have previously questioned why SA is part of the G20.
“These are unprecedented attacks on South Africa. In fact, it is unprecedented for the G20 … We have never had this before,” Manuel told Moneyweb during an interview at the B20 conference.
Asked whether the US could really bar SA from attending the 2026 G20 Summit, Manuel said that “there were no rules” – with the G20 not having a secretariat and being “run in good faith”.
Earlier in the B20 plenary session, Manuel cited an editorial in The Economist this past week, which said that “global politics 2025 was the year when the old order ended”. He added that this is “quite an important statement” by the London-based business magazine.
“They run through the behaviour of what we are seeing in the United States, including in respect of the G20 and B20,” he said.
ALSO READ: SA’s G20 role elevates its global standing – expert
‘Very broken’
Manuel then highlighted the post-World War II institutions that were created, such as the UN, World Bank, IMF, and later the World Trade Organisation, which “were meant to create improvements in quality of life” globally through accepted systems. He said, “That now is very broken.”
It was a clear reference to Trump’s tariffs, which have rocked global trade and caused uncertainty in the world economy.
Speaking on the same plenary panel, Charles Johnston, Managing Director of Global Government Affairs at Citibank, responded that he did not think the system is broken.
“No one would deny that we are in a very different era… In the investment environment that we are currently experiencing, we are learning lessons,” he said.
“I am a bit optimistic about the outcome of what we are having to deal with today… We are experiencing new alignments. Countries are looking to others and to establishing stronger ties and less dependency on one single market [the US],” added Johnston.
ALSO READ: Trump posts another swipe at SA, says G20 host nation a ‘total disgrace’
‘Fertile grounds for authoritarians’
“In an era of risk and limits, it’s fertile grounds for authoritarians and demigods. And we have to be aware of that,” he said.
“We are now undergoing tectonic shifts in economic policy, in which the US and many other countries are now adopting what’s called industrial policy… We must be aware of the dangers of that. With industrial policy, you find, unfortunately, the kind of environment in which protectionism can creep in that has nothing to do with national security,” he pointed out.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.