Days before the G20 Summit kicks off in Johannesburg, international relations and cooperation minister Ronald Lamola has accused US President Donald Trump’s administration of pursuing an agenda of “white supremacy” in a CNN interview to be aired this afternoon.
“It was excruciatingly difficult that there’s fearmongering to pursue the agenda of white supremacy,” said Lamola about the contentious May 21 meeting at the White House, in which Trump repeated claims of “white persecution”.
With the programme to take white Afrikaners from South Africa, it’s a clear programme to back up the issue of white supremacy
— Ronald Lamola, international relations & cooperation minister
In the interview, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan asked Lamola: “Do you think Trump is pursuing the white supremacist agenda?
“Yes, I think so,” responded Lamola, adding: “With the programme to take white Afrikaners from South Africa, it’s a clear programme to back up the issue of white supremacy. When you look at the Geneva Convention, they don’t fit the definition of a refugee”.
O’Sullivan recently travelled to South Africa to investigate allegations of a “white genocide”, which he states has gained traction among some Americans who fear the changing demographics that are projected in the US. Among the local people he interviewed was Errol Musk, father of billionaire South African-born businessman Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, with Trump having pulled the plug on all US participation at this year’s G20 Summit, clinging to a discredited and false white genocide narrative, the transfer of the G20 presidency at the end of November is set for another standoff between the two countries, with Pretoria insisting that the US government must come to South Africa to receive a proper handover.
The South African government said that it will not travel to the US to hand over the G20 presidency following months of tensions, which have resulted in Trump firing a lethal salvo by announcing that he would not be sending any delegation to the summit and denouncing South Africa’s participation in the forum.
In an interview with the Sunday Times this week, South Africa’s G20 Sherpa Ambassador Xolisa Mabhongo said the US will have to come to South Africa or proceed without a handover.
“There is nothing that South Africa will do. We will not be going to the US to hand over. They will simply assume their presidency and inform the world what is on their menu … It is what it is, we are in this situation, and that is how we will manage it,” he said.
Traditionally the country which will assume the presidency takes over the reins following the leaders’ summit. During Brazil’s presidency, a high contingent of Ramaphosa’s delegation accompanied him to Rio de Janeiro, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva transferred chairship of the group during a ceremonial event.
“The US can’t wish us away because from December 1, we then form part of the troika again with the US,” Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told the Sunday Times.
South Africa has, until now, used soft diplomacy to manage the escalating tensions with Washington. However, this week, while reacting to the US president’s decision, President Cyril Ramaphosa claimed it was “their loss”.
“The United States, by not being at the G20, must never think that we are not going to go on with the G20. The G20 will go on. All other heads of state will be here. In the end, we will take fundamental decisions and their absence is their loss,” Ramaphosa said.
Government insiders told the Sunday Times that working with the US during South Africa’s presidency had been a “nightmare”. The insiders spoke of how the US government had minimal participation in the process, claiming that on some occasions the US delegation would ignore correspondence from their South African counterparts.
“The meetings of the working groups were challenging, but we were able to get the work done without them. They would skip working group meetings even though there was an agreed-upon meeting. Some declarations were agreed with the US in absentia. They tried to block a lot of proposals, but they also agreed to some. The boycott of ministerial meetings by US secretary of state Marco Rubio and treasury secretary Scott Bessent laid the foundation for our interactions,” they said.
The US has expressed its objections to South Africa’s agenda, arguing against debt sustainability for low-income countries.
Mabhongo conceded to challenges in working with the US, but downplayed the extent of the problem.
Despite the US boycotting the G20, Pretoria is positive that the summit declarations will still be moved, even with Washington in absentia. South Africa’s agenda includes:
- strengthening disaster resilience and response;
- ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries;
- mobilising finance for a just energy transition; and
- harnessing critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The US has expressed its objections to South Africa’s agenda, arguing against debt sustainability for low-income countries.
Magwenya said that while the US may narrow the focus in terms of work streams during its presidency, the issue of debt would remain.
“This issue of debt is an issue that may sound very high level and technical, but it has a real impact on ordinary people’s lives because it hits directly at the government’s ability to spend on social services and on critical infrastructure,” he said.
“Why should poor countries pay more in debt service costs than richer countries? Yet you have a sovereign government that has proven that it has the capacity to service the debt. Why then do you have punitive higher debt service costs than richer countries? These are some of the critical issues we are going to table before G20 summit leaders.”
Minister of trade, industry & competition Parks Tau is engaged in high-level negotiations which will see South Africa entering a new trade arrangement with the US. In September the Sunday Times reported that the South African government is edging closer to clinching a deal with the US after Washington sent a detailed response to a trade proposal from Pretoria that was dispatched months ago.
But the insider said Pretoria recently discovered that information on the negotiations is not known to Trump as he had not been apprised of progress reports on the potential trade deal.
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