The United States presidency of the G20 has significantly pared down the developmental agenda inherited from South Africa, Indonesia, India, and Brazil, focusing instead on core economic growth and prosperity. ^[1] Jakkie Cilliers, founder of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), argues in his book Africa's Road to Prosperity that democracy is not necessarily the immediate solution for Africa's development challenges. ^[2] South Africa's G20 presidency in 2025 included proposals to tackle inequality, increase financial inclusion, address Africa's unsustainable debt burden, and introduce a global minimum corporate tax rate. ^[3] The G20 Chair's Statement from the finance ministers' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, was not a consensus communiqué because China withheld support from paragraphs regarding fair burden sharing in debt restructuring, global imbalances, and energy trade disruptions. ^[4] The US G20 programme comprises far fewer meetings than South Africa's, with just four ministerial meetings culminating in the December leaders' summit compared to South Africa's 130 official meetings. ^[5] Cilliers states that in fragile post-conflict states like Somalia and South Sudan, competitive politics and elections can undo progress made in ending violence by rallying support on ethnic or religious grounds. ^[6] Jakkie Cilliers argues that Africa's large and rapidly growing population is not an automatic asset until the median age reaches 25.5 years and the working-age population exceeds dependents by a ratio of about 1.7:1. ^[7] The author suggests that low-income African countries should first strive for stability, particularly control over their territories and strong institutions, before gradually strengthening democracy. ^[8]