South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana (C, front) arrives at the parliament to deliver the 2026 Budget Speech in Cape Town, South Africa, Feb. 25, 2026. Godongwana has not been accredited by the United States to attend the upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) finance chiefs meeting, local media reported on Monday. (Photo by Xabiso Mkhabela/Xinhua)
CAPE TOWN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not been accredited by the United States to attend the upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) finance chiefs meeting, local media reported on Monday.
Both he and South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago will not be attending the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting scheduled for April 16 in Washington, Godongwana said on Sunday at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, as he travelled to the United States to take part in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
"We are members of the G20," he was quoted as saying. "However, the U.S. has not accredited us, which means that South Africa will not be part of the G20 for the whole of this year."
The United States assumed the G20's annual rotating presidency from South Africa in late 2025, and will hand it over to Britain next.
"We have taken a view that for us it is a holiday from the G20 this year," Godongwana added. "We are beginning in November with the U.K. presidency."
South Africa's Ministry of Finance spokesperson Mfuneko Toyana confirmed the development to Xinhua later on Monday. "Neither the minister nor any South African officials will be attending," he said.
On Nov. 26, 2025, Trump said in a social media post that South Africa would not be invited to the G20 summit 2026 to be held in Miami.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement the following day that South Africa would "continue to participate as a full, active and constructive member of the G20," and called on the bloc's members to uphold multilateralism and ensure equal participation of all members. ■