Fikile Mbalula Rejects Marco Rubio’s Claim That South Africa’s G20 Was Operated With Radical Agendas

• Secretary General (SG) of the African National Congress (ANC), Fikile Mbalula, responded to Marco Rubio's claims
• Rubio, who is the United States of America’s Secretary of State, criticised South Africa's G20 presidency
• Donald Trump previously indicated that South Africa would not be invited to the 2026 G20 World Leaders Summit

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – Fikile Mbalula has rubbished claims by Marco Rubio that South Africa’s G20 was operated with spite, division, and radical agendas.

The United States of America’s Secretary of State took to X (formerly Twitter) to promote the 2026 G20, which will be held in Miami. While promising how great the event would be, he also took a shot at South Africa, which held the presidency in 2025.

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The post did not sit well with the Secretary General (SG) of the African National Congress (ANC), who described it as untrue and fake news.

Mbalula responds to Rubio’s statement

Taking to X himself, the ANC’s SG stated that South Africa’s presidency was premised on solidarity, equality and sustainability. He also noted how other world leaders viewed the event.

“The G20 held in SA and led by President Cyril Ramaphosa was one of the most successful, as hailed by all world leaders who attended.

“The declaration passed has been praised as one of the most progressive and a great leap forward in terms of positioning the global south as an equal in the family of nations,” he said.

Mbalula noted that the people of the United States were in solidarity with those oppressed by the dark days of Apartheid, and so the stance taken by the new administration was unfortunate. He added that despite this, the country’s relations with the people of the US would not be severed.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperations, Ronald Lamola, also responded to Rubio's comments.

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US seeks to exclude South Africa from 2026 G20

With the US officially taking over the presidency, the Donald Trump administration has already indicated that South Africa would not be invited.

Apart from Rubio’s statement about the country, the US also excluded South Africa from upcoming meetings. The country sent invitations to the first sherpas’ meeting to all G20 members except South Africa. The meetings will take place in Washington on 15 and 16 December 2025.

The decision not to extend an invitation to South Africa follows President Trump’s announcement that South Africa would not be invited to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami in December 2026.

Other stories about the US and SA G20 saga

Briefly News reported that there have been some tensions between the USA and South Africa regarding the G20 presidency.

• The South African government has announced that the United States will be excluded from attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
• South Africa has clarified that it intends to fully participate in all upcoming G20 meetings hosted by the United States.
• The White House has responded to South Africa's refusal to hand over the presidency of the Group of 20.

Source: Briefly News