South Africa's Finance Minister not accredited for G20 meeting in Washington
via The Citizen2 min read
South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not been accredited to attend the upcoming meeting of G20 finance chiefs in Washington, US. This follows an announcement in November 2025 by US President Donald Trump that Pretoria would be barred from attending the next G20 summit in America. Tensions between South Africa and the United States escalated after the US boycotted the G20 leaders’ Summit hosted in Johannesburg, with Trump citing the South African government's alleged refusal to address human rights abuses endured by Afrikaners and other descendants of European settlers. A month later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the State Department's intention to bar South Africa from the forum and replace it with Poland. Godongwana confirmed that neither he nor South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago would attend the G20 meeting, stating, "We are members of the G20. However, the US has not accredited us, which means that South Africa will not be part of the G20 for the whole of this year." He added, "We’ve taken a view that for us it is a holiday from the G20 this year. We’re beginning in November with the UK Presidency." Trump has previously criticized South Africa on issues including claims about white Afrikaners.
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