Johannesburg Gets Rushed Clean-Up for G20 Meetings, SA Jokes It Only Happens When Visitors Arrive
- South Africa has become the first African nation to hold the presidency of the Group of Twenty Summit
- Ahead of the arrival of foreign ministers, maintenance and clean-ups were conducted around Johannesburg
- South Africans joked that it was like people cleaning their homes before the arrival of visitors
Source: Getty Images
GAUTENG - South Africa has pulled out all the stops when hosting the Group of Twenty (G20) meetings, something citizens were quick to point out.
With the country becoming the first African country to hold the presidency, the government put its best foot forward to make sure the country looked good for international visitors.
The G20 is an international forum which includes the world’s major economies. The forum doesn’t have a permanent secretariat, and so the Presidency of the G20 rotates annually among members. This year's meeting was in the spotlight after US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, confirmed that he would not be attending.
US President Donald Trump also hasn't confirmed whether he will be attending the summit later this year.
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South Africa cleans up for G20
South African journalist and editor Ferial Haffajee took to X recently to share the great work being done by the government to prepare for the G20.
In the photos, workers can be seen repairing lights, cutting grass and even fixing crash barriers around Johannesburg, the host city for the G20.
Source: Twitter
Haffajee noted that this proved that if there was political will, things could be done, as manpower and machinery were made available for the clean-up.
The work was done ahead of the first two meetings: one between the finance ministers of each member nation and the other between the G20 foreign ministers. You can view the tweet HERE.
Clean-up sparks hilarious responses online
With many others taking note of the sudden cleanup, social media users couldn’t help but compare it to trying to clean up before visitors arrive.
@thokozanima2 said:
“The ANC and their GNU friends are useless. It's like cleaning your house because visitors are coming.”
@PrinceNdamase added:
“What a pity that we can't have this as a norm instead of an occasional occurrence. Also, unfortunate that it happens on the day of the G20 Foreign Minister's meeting. Why couldn't it have been done in the two weeks prior?”
@RoundHouseBet stated:
“What they are saying is that they could have fixed this months ago, but because we have guests, it can be done now. Embarrassing and slap in the face to the residents.”
@MasonwabeWeber said:
“This is like when my mom comes to visit so I quickly clean the house at the surface level.”
@hlnnrj asked:
“Why do we have to wait for the G20? We pay our rates and taxes every month and year?”
@iam_asanele laughed:
“Lol. Like those homes where they clean only when they expect visitors. What a joke.”
Ronald Lamola excited about G20 meetings
In a related article, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola expressed excitement for the G20 meetings in the country.
Briefly News reported that Lamola said the meetings presented an opportunity to create a bridge between the global South and global North.
Lamola made the comments on 18 February 2025, days before the foreign ministers met for a G20 meeting.
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Source: Briefly News
