Inside the G20 engine room: Sarb deputy reveals what happens behind closed doors

In this episode of Mandates & Megaphones, Standard Bank’s head of power, Rentia van Tonder, outlines the investment landscape for South Africa’s energy transition, stressing the need for policy certainty, bankable projects and urgent transmission upgrades to unlock large-scale private capital.

The international relations expert says the country carries both the burden and the potential of speaking credibly for a continent seeking greater global influence in a geopolitically charged world – with sovereign debt, climate action and the just energy transition as central priorities.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen lays out South Africa’s high-stakes push to put food security, fair trade, and agricultural reform at the heart of the G20 agenda.

Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim unpacks Africa’s pivotal role in a fractured, multipolar world, warning that internal reform, diplomatic balance and economic clarity are essential if the continent is to convert visibility at the G20 into lasting influence.

As South Africa prepares to host the G20, veteran journalist Ferial Haffajee offers a penetrating assessment of the country’s global narrative, its political fragility, and the credibility of its leadership on the world stage. Speaking to Jeremy Maggs on Mandates & Megaphones, the Daily Maverick associate editor examines how South…