While the G20 Leaders’ Summit (21–23 November 2025) brings presidents, prime ministers and massive delegations to Johannesburg at huge taxpayer cost (security, logistics, venues, travel), many South Africans are asking the same blunt question: beyond the photo-ops, luxury hotels and motorcades, will any of these leaders actually fix the problems ordinary people face?
The criticism is familiar: climate pledges that get watered down, trade promises that never materialise, debt-relief talks that go nowhere, and grand speeches about food security while millions still go hungry. For local farmers and citizens, the summit feels especially hollow when foot-and-mouth disease is crippling red-meat exports, small-scale fishers remain marginalised, fertiliser prices are still sky-high, and load-shedding (even if reduced) still disrupts packhouses and cold chains.
Yet there is another side: these summits do sometimes deliver concrete outcomes (debt restructuring frameworks, vaccine-financing mechanisms, trade-facilitation deals) that only happen when the world’s most powerful leaders are forced into the same room. South Africa’s hosting also puts African priorities (debt relief, climate finance, agricultural transformation) centre-stage in a way that rarely happens.
The real test isn’t the glamour or the cost; it’s whether the final communiqué contains specific, funded commitments that translate into real change on the ground, and whether our own government uses the global spotlight to push harder for the reforms our farmers and citizens desperately need. History says the jury will be out for a long time.
With agriculture contributing 25–40% of Africa's GDP yet only 4% of world exports, SA's presidency pushes three core principles: boosting intra-African and global trade to stabilise food systems, forging resilient supply chains against disasters and conflicts, and scaling sustainable, tech-driven farming via climate-smart practices, precision tools and biosecurity.
For Africa, this could reverse export declines, create jobs, and secure nutrition for 1.4 billion people, but success hinges on tangible commitments: blended finance, reduced trade barriers and youth/women empowerment in agri-value chains. SA's vision – Ubuntu in action – positions agriculture not as a relic, but as the engine for equitable growth, urging G20 partners to invest now or risk perpetuating hunger.
The Missing Ingredient – Real Leadership
Over the past 20–30 years, many people across the world (and especially in South Africa) feel the same frustration: the era of genuine, nation-first leaders seems to have ended. What we mostly see now are career politicians chasing prestige, headlines, photo-ops and legacy projects, rather than tackling the hard, unglamorous work of fixing broken systems.In South Africa the evidence feels overwhelming:
- State capture drained billions while basic services collapsed
- Eskom and Transnet were allowed to rot for more than a decade
- Foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks are now routine because biosecurity plans were never properly implemented
- 2.5 million hectares of state land sits idle while new-entrant farmers wait for title deeds
- Red tape and port inefficiencies cost the agricultural and mining sectors hundreds of billions
- Unemployment sits above 32% (over 40% if you count those who’ve given up looking)
South Africans aren’t asking for perfect leaders; they’re asking for competent ones who actually fear failing the people more than they fear losing the next election or party faction fight.Until that changes, the motorcades will keep rolling, the speeches will keep coming, and the problems will keep growing.
The message of the President- "The G20 underscores the value and relevance of multilateralism. It recognises that the challenges we all face can only be resolved through cooperation, collaboration and partnership. The adoption of the declaration from the summit sends an important signal to the world that multilateralism can and does deliver." It sends a message of hope and solidarity.” – President Ramaphosa
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