For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Ramaphosa says Trump agreed to US attend G20 Summit in Joburg; SIU to investigate maladministration in the Department of Defence; And, African Development Bank to pick new head to confront US funding cuts

Ramaphosa says Trump agreed to US attend G20 Summit in Joburg

In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated that President Donald Trump agreed that the US should continue playing a key role in the G20, including attending the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg later this year.

Ramaphosa described his working visit to the US as a success, despite Trump having ambushed Ramaphosa in the Oval Office with discredited claims of a ‘white genocide’.

Ramaphosa also confirmed that he had extended an invitation to Trump to send a government and business delegation to South Africa to explore opportunities for deepening investment and trade, but provided no specifics.

SIU to investigate maladministration in the Department of Defence

The Special Investigating Unit has been authorised to investigate allegations of maladministration in the Department of Defence and recover any losses the State may have suffered.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate serious maladministration, focusing on irregularities linked to the supply and delivery of surgical mask elastic loops.

The Proclamation covers allegations of unlawful and improper conduct that occurred between March 1, 2021 and May 23, 2025, as well as any related activities before March 1, 2021 and after the date of the Proclamation that are important to the matters under investigation or involve the same persons, entities, or contracts.

The SIU probe will investigate whether procurement and contracting were made fairly, competitively, transparently, equitably, or cost-effectively or whether they violated legislation, guidelines, or instructions from the National or Provincial Treasury.

And, African Development Bank to pick new head to confront US funding cuts

The African Development Bank will meet in Ivory Coast this week to pick a new president at a time when the continent's biggest multilateral lender faces unprecedented challenges from funding cuts by the United States government, analysts said.

The US federal government wants to cut $555-million in funding to the AfDB and its African Development Fund, which offers low-priced financing to the continent's poor nations.

The annual gathering of heads of state and finance officials, taking place this year in the Ivorian city of Abidjan, is one of the biggest finance meetings on the continent.

Africa's largest development finance institution is owned by 54 African states and G7 nations like the US and Japan. Its biggest shareholder is Nigeria.

The new president will have to try to persuade the US to reinstate the funding, seek additional funds from non-regional members of the bank like China, or Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, in return for more say, or ask African states to contribute more, said Hannah Ryder, founder of Development Reimagined, an Africa-focused consultancy.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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