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Reuters
16-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
South Africa's Kganyago asserts Africa's G20 agenda despite tariffs and Bessent absence
DURBAN, July 16 (Reuters) - South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday that an "African agenda" including climate change and cross-border payment systems was still due to be discussed by G20 finance chiefs amid fears that tariffs would overshadow the gathering. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipped the gathering in Durban, marking his second consecutive absence from G20 finance meetings and raising questions about its ability to tackle pressing global challenges. President Cyril Ramaphosa has sought to leverage Africa's first G20 presidency to promote the African agenda, which also included topics such as the high cost of capital. "The African issues have been elevated, all of us are talking about those," Kganyago told Reuters as discussions were ongoing between deputies and other officials, before the two-day meeting gets officially under way on Thursday. Kganyago emphasized the push for a coordinated African payments system to facilitate trade across the continent, a move that could face scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened tariffs on BRICS nations for promoting "anti-American" policies, including advocating for payments in local currencies instead of relying on the dollar system. "As African central banks, we have decided that we are going to enable the movement of payments across borders," Kganyago said. "We are doing it not to bypass anybody, we are doing it because it will facilitate trade on our continent." The G20, initially formed to address global economic crises, has evolved into a key platform for policy coordination. However, Trump's baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports, along with punitive rates targeting specific countries and products, has created significant policy uncertainty. And while delegates said tariffs were the biggest theme affecting the global economy, Kganyago said G20 members would not develop a coordinated response to the threats. He instead highlighted the importance of individual countries tailoring their strategies to suit their economies, like during the COVID pandemic. Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the department at the meeting. (This story has been corrected to fix the day of the week to Wednesday, not Tuesday, in paragraph 1)
The Citizen
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Deputy president denies misuse of state funds for international trips
The Office of the deputy president has released a statement denying allegations of misusing state funds related to Deputy President Paul Mashatile's international travel. This statement follows extensive media coverage from various news outlets and public speculation on the matter. 'Categorically, the office and the deputy president have not, as seems to be suggested, misused state funds or been extravagant in financing the costs of the deputy president's international travel,' the statement, issued last night, read. According to the Presidency, the matter was first raised after a written parliamentary inquiry from ActionSA, which prompted detailed disclosures regarding travel expenses. Mashatile responds to inquiry 'In light of such an expected phenomenon, the deputy president replied to the question in full and also provided specific details, which include correct figures and breakdown of individual costs by members of the delegation supporting the deputy president.' The deputy president's office has stressed that all international trips undertaken are in his official capacity, representing the South African government, as directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. 'Moreover, the majority of these strategic international visits are aimed at strengthening existing bilateral, political, economic and diplomatic relations between South Africa and visited countries.' Breakdown of international visits and costs Mashatile has engaged in several significant international working visits since taking office on July 3, 2024, including trips to Ireland, the UK and Japan, with further planned visits to France. The office has provided a comprehensive breakdown of the expenses associated with these trips, stressing that many figures circulated in the media are inflated. News24 recently reported that the deputy president's trip to Japan in March cost R2.3m, with R900 000 covering accommodation for him and his wife. However, the Presidency stated that the Japan visit was particularly highlighted for its strategic relevance, marking the first high-level engagement between South Africa and Japan in a decade, coinciding with the 115th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Japan visit During the Japan working visit, the country's second-in-command was accompanied by various ministers. The Presidency believes that the visit was advantageous for South Africa's African Agenda, especially considering the current overlap of South Africa's Group of 20 chairship and Japan's upcoming hosting of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in August. 'This presents a unique opportunity for South Africa to communicate its own and the continent's position and priorities to Japan, and the expected support and role that Japan could play in this regard.' Presidency disputes 'blown out' media figures In addition, the deputy president's office stated that the claims of exorbitant costs for certain officials have been disputed, and that the actual expenditure is significantly lower. 'Regrettably, some of the figures presented by the media are significantly blown out of proportion and do not accurately reflect the cost of the trips. For example, one media liaison officer, referred to by TimesLIVE as the 'most expensive supporting official', is said to have cost R580 582 for Japan alone, when in fact, the total cost for that official is less than R66 000, including flights and accommodation.' Travel funded under official policy The office has reassured the public that the deputy president's travels are conducted with fiscal responsibility and in alignment with South Africa's commitment to global relations and investment. 'In terms of the travel policy in the Presidential Handbook, transport for the president and deputy president during travel outside South Africa is the responsibility and for the account of the state.' In addition, the office mentioned that the financial responsibilities for the visits, which include travel, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses, are typically shared between the Department of International Relations and Co-operation and other participating departments. 'In all these visits, the Office of the Deputy President has insisted on the most cost-effective provisions for the deputy president and his delegations and has therefore not misused or extravagantly used state funds, as alluded.' – Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
TimesLIVE
11-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Mashatile defends ‘wasteful' expenditure on international trips
The office of Deputy President Paul Mashatile has defended his international travel expenses which have sparked criticism. In a parliamentary written reply, Mashatile provided a breakdown of his international travel costs for transport and accommodation since taking office last year. He said he has been on international trips to Ireland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Japan which cost more than R2m. During his Japan trip, Mashatile was accompanied by several ministers and deputy ministers, including: minister of sport, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie; minister of agriculture John Steenhuisen; minister of higher education Dr Nobuhle Nkabane; minister of trade, industry and competition Parks Tau; deputy minister of international relations and cooperation Thandi Moraka; and deputy minister of science and innovation Nomalungelo Gina. Among other costs, Mashatile and his wife spent more than R900,000 on four nights' accommodation in Japan, sparking criticism from ActionSA, which called it 'wasteful expenditure' that could be spent on building decent homed for those in need. Mashatile's office clarified the deputy president did not 'misuse state funds or was extravagant in financing the costs of his international travel'. It said the visits were necessary to advance the global agenda. 'The office of the deputy president wishes to reiterate Mashatile undertakes all international working visits not in his personal capacity but on behalf of the government as delegated by President Cyril Ramaphosa. 'Moreover, the most these strategic international visits are aimed at strengthening existing bilateral, political, economic and diplomatic relations between SA and visited countries,' Mashatile's office said. His office reiterated the Japan visit was of the same importance. 'The Japan working visit achieved several key objectives, including representing the first high-level engagement between SA and Japan in the past 10 years, signalling an acknowledgment and appreciation for the long-standing relationship between the two countries based on a wide area of cooperation not limited to trade and investment. 'The visit was beneficial in terms of SA's African Agenda, the confluence of SA's G20 chairship and Japan's hosting of the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in August, presenting a unique opportunity for SA to communicate its own and the continent's position and priorities to Japan and the expected support and role Japan could play in this regard.'
