South Africa’s 2025 G20 presidency and the landmark G20 summit in Johannesburg have catapulted the nation to the forefront of global diplomacy as a defining voice for the Global South.
It marked the first time an African country assumed the G20 presidency, elevating Africa’s development priorities and those of developing countries onto the global stage under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”.
Through deft leadership, South Africa steered the summit’s agenda to focus on debt sustainability, climate finance, inclusive industrialisation, critical minerals, food security and technology governance – key issues central to Africa’s and the Global South’s advancement.
Despite geopolitical fractures and the US’s absence, South Africa succeeded in forging consensus and a united declaration underscoring multi-polarity and shared commitment to development, underscoring a transformative break from past G20 presidencies dominated by a narrower set of interests.
Building on the momentum of Indonesia, India and Brazil’s G20 presidencies, South Africa’s stewardship advocated a developmental agenda considerate of historically marginalised nations.
On the other hand, South Africa’s presidency in 2025 represents a critical juncture in the country’s ongoing journey to redress inequalities rooted in its apartheid past.
The importance of this moment lies in how it brings South Africa full circle in addressing inequalities – issues first confronted through fiscal measures during the democratic transition in the early 1990s
The first proposal of the wealth tax by the ANC in 1991 received a mixed reaction from the public and political groups that reflected the broader political tensions of the era.
Many progressive and liberation-aligned groups supported the proposal as a necessary mechanism post-apartheid for addressing historic wealth inequalities, especially related to land dispossession and economic exclusion of the majority.
However, conservative groups, including the ruling National Party at the time, and other segments of the white minority and business interests, opposed the proposal – viewing it as a threat to property rights.
A compromise was reached and a 5% transitional levy on taxable income exceeding R50 000 before the deduction of any loss brought forward was introduced, designed as a temporary measure to finance the costs associated with the country’s transition to democracy, including the 1994 elections.
It was explicitly a one-off levy, not intended to become a permanent wealth tax.
The levy’s discontinuation reflected the political reality of balancing interests between conservative groups, protective of their apartheid-era privileges, and progressive forces seeking transformation.
Today, however, South Africa is seriously considering introducing a wealth tax, with rates proposed between 3% to 7% on net wealth above roughly R3.6-million.
This would represent a transformative approach to raising revenue for social development and addressing persistent inequality.
Encouragingly, up to 62% of wealthy South Africans have indicated willingness to pay a 2% wealth tax, reflecting shifting attitudes toward fiscal fairness and social responsibility.
South Africa’s presidency of G20 has also provided a powerful platform from which to drive these reforms.
It has allowed the country to anchor global discussions on tax fairness, inequality, and inclusive growth – issues that resonate deeply with its domestic agenda.
The Global Inequality Report commissioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa underscores this imperative, calling for urgent tax reforms to break apartheid’s enduring legacy of economic exclusion.
In this context, South Africa’s G20 Presidency symbolises a seismic shift, a new paradigm of multilateralism grounded in solidarity with the Global South and reparative justice at home.
It presented a blueprint for how visionary diplomacy and courageous domestic governance can converge to craft a sustainable and equitable future.
In this dual role – global norm-shaper and domestic reformer – South Africa charts an unprecedented course that links international solidarity with reparative justice.
Its G20 leadership is not mere diplomatic symbolism but a call to action, aligning the aspirations of the Global South with South Africa’s own pressing need to dismantle century-old inequalities.
This moment calls not only for riding the crest of global influence but also for delivering on the promise of inclusive development.
The eyes of the world, and especially the Global South, are fixed on South Africa as it champions a reimagined global economic order where justice, equality, and shared prosperity take centre stage.
Now the ball is in our court. SA faces the critical test of translating G20 commitments into concrete reforms, including equitable wealth taxation and inclusive economic policies aimed at undoing systemic inequalities.
• Lekota is a veteran journalist
