![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ronald-Lamola.png\")
DIRCO minister Ronald Lamola shaking the hand of US Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\nUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio has launched a scathing attack on the South African government, defending Washington\u2019s decision to exclude the country from deliberations for the 2026 G20, which will be hosted by the United States.<\/p>\n
Last week, the US sent invitations to all G20 members except South Africa to attend the first sherpas\u2019 meeting of its G20 presidency, scheduled for 15\u201316 December in Washington.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The move cements President Donald Trump\u2019s recent announcement that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 Leaders\u2019 Summit in Miami.<\/p>\n
Rubio said South Africa had squandered the promise it held at the dawn of democracy, arguing that the current government has \u201cchosen grievance over growth\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africa entered the post-Cold War era with strong institutions, excellent infrastructure, and global goodwill,\u201d Rubio said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, Mandela\u2019s successors have replaced reconciliation with redistributionist policies that discouraged investment and drove South Africa\u2019s most talented citizens abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accused the ANC-led government of crippling the private sector through racial quota policies and allowing corruption to \u201cbankrupt the state\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than take responsibility for its failings, the radical ANC-led government has sought to scapegoat its own citizens and the United States,\u201d Rubio said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIts appetite for racism and tolerance for violence against its Afrikaner citizens have become embedded as core domestic policies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubio further claimed that South Africa\u2019s foreign policy stances \u2014 including ties with Iran and what he described as \u201centertaining Hamas sympathisers\u201d \u2014 had shifted Pretoria away from longstanding US partnerships.<\/p>\n
Rubio also referenced the United States\u2019 boycott of the recent G20 meetings hosted under South Africa\u2019s presidency, which Washington described as overly politicised.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe politics of grievance carried over to South Africa\u2019s Presidency of the G20 this month,\u201d Rubio argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an exercise in spite, division, and radical agendas that have nothing to do with economic growth.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accused South Africa of ignoring US objections, sidelining Western inputs, and even \u201cdoxing US officials working on these negotiations.\u201d \u201cIt fundamentally tarnished the G20\u2019s reputation,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n
No seat for South Africa \u2014 for now<\/p>\n
Rubio said the exclusion of South Africa from the 2026 summit was a direct consequence of these developments.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor these reasons, President Trump and the United States will not be extending an invitation,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a place for good-faith disagreement, but not dishonesty or sabotage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rubio stressed that Washington distinguished between the ANC government and South African citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe United States supports the people of South Africa, but not its radical ANC-led government,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen South Africa decides it has made the tough decisions needed to fix its broken system, the United States will have a seat for it at our table. Until then, America will be forging ahead with a new G20.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Africa responds<\/p>\n
DIRCO minister Ronald Lamola shaking the hand of US Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola noted Rubio\u2019s public criticism of South Africa\u2019s governance, foreign policy positions, and its handling of the 2025 G20 presidency. <\/p>\n
While congratulating the US on assuming the G20 chair, he argued that some of Rubio\u2019s assertions required \u201cclarification\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lamola rejected the US decision to leave South Africa off the invitation list for the first sherpas\u2019 meeting, saying the G20 is \u201ca forum of equals\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo single member of the G20 has a unilateral right to exclude South Africa,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Responding to Rubio\u2019s accusation that South Africa\u2019s G20 presidency was divisive and ignored US input, Lamola said the US had chosen not to attend several meetings and therefore could not accurately assess the proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe notion of our \u2018sabotaging\u2019 consensus is incorrect,\u201d Lamola stated.<\/p>\n
He cited positive feedback from several delegations, including Germany, India and the IMF, to argue that many participants viewed South Africa\u2019s presidency favourably. <\/p>\n
However, he did not address Rubio\u2019s specific claims regarding alleged procedural obstruction and the leaking of US officials\u2019 details.<\/p>\n
On domestic policy, Lamola disputed Rubio\u2019s claims that the South African government tolerated racism or violence. <\/p>\n
He framed South Africa\u2019s redress and land reform policies as constitutionally mandated, but acknowledged that the country continues to face economic and governance challenges.<\/p>\n
Lamola also pointed to long-term improvements in access to basic services such as electricity and water, while conceding that \u201cno nation can undo centuries of inequality overnight\u201d.<\/p>\n
Despite clear disagreements, Lamola said Pretoria remained willing to maintain diplomatic engagement. \u201cWe remain open to dialogue,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has launched a scathing attack on the South African government, defending Washington\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-336616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}