G20 country audit institutions support and have high developmental expectations from the G20 Summit

Writes Tsakani Maluleke

The G20 Summit, to be hosted by South Africa this November, is more than just a moment of national and continental pride, it also carries the shared hope that it will signal a gear shift towards the strengthening of good governance to improve the lived experiences of the marginalised all over the world.

This is the posture that was adopted by the summit of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of the G20 member countries, known as SAI20, that the South African national audit office hosted in Johannesburg on 24-25 June 2025.

This engagement platform enables us to drive collaboration between the SAIs, supporting their vital role in enhancing governance and fostering oversight of sustainable development within their respective countries. The gathering also presents an opportunity for SAIs to share insights that will create foresight for our G20 governments to ensure that the plight of citizens in our respective countries continues to lead the developmental agenda.

About SAI20

The SAI20 arises from the need to develop a platform that strengthens the role of SAIs as strategic partners of G20 governments in addressing global challenges. It plays a pivotal role in promoting global transparency and accountability.

The SAI of the country holding the G20 presidency chairs the SAI20 Engagement Group. Therefore, when South Africa assumed the presidency of G20 for 2025, the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) assumed the chair of the SAI20 2025 from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025.

The formation emerged in response to the critical need for heightened oversight and accountability during the extraordinary disbursement of public funds to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The importance of balancing pandemic response efforts with achieving sustainable development goals reinforced the necessity for transparency in public financial management across nations and the formation of SAI20.

During the AGSA’s chairpersonship, SAI20 is focusing on two developmental themes: 1). unlocking and leveraging public infrastructure funding for equality, sustainable growth and bringing improvement to the lives of citizens and 2). collaborative and integrative efforts for a future-ready workforce – bridging the skills gap in sustainable economic growth.

These themes guided our discussions during the summit we successfully hosted for delegates from 18 countries.

While the overall theme of the G20 Summit is equality, sustainability as well as solidarity, the SAI20 engagement drilled down to two key themes at the heart of development which not only find expression as running priorities of this group of countries but are also in line with the United Nation’s (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SAI20 Summit resolves to continue supporting G20 developmental goals

During our 2025 summit we had critical conversations that explored, among other developmental issues, ways on how our audit institutions can support governments while retaining their independence for the benefit of our countries and citizenry.

Our tough conversations culminated in the adoption, by consensus, of a communique that will direct our uniform developmental posture until our next summit.

SAI20 delegates agreed that as independent auditors of governments in our respective countries, our institutions play a critical role in enabling development by ensuring that all available public resources are optimally used to the benefits of all citizens.

In the final communique, SAIs represented agreed that we are uniquely positioned to support their governments with foresight, insight and oversight in addressing developmental challenges through our mandate and capabilities.

We also agreed that the capabilities of SAIs to identify, assess and mitigate current and yet-to-be identified and unmanaged risks to the economic, efficient and effectiveness of governments’ use of public funds positions them well to provide trusted support in making meaningful progress towards the aspirations that are currently constrained by unforeseen emerging issues. The most interesting part is that as SAI20 we are helping to find ways to provide assurance in the most appropriate ways of how the world is moving towards the successful achievement of the SDGs. The ultimate goal is to create an environment where public sector auditors all over the world can do their work to the best benefit of the citizens they are supposed to serve without any fear, favour or prejudice.

We are buoyed that in the lead up to the G20 Summit in November, South Africa’s G20 Presidency has been proclaiming developmental initiatives such as producing a historic report on global wealth inequality and offering a practical way forward on how to address the anomaly.

We believe this and other planned developmental and sustainability interventions will mark and make the South African leg of the G20 engagement as a memorable one that raised the bar and set a new benchmark in addressing the hopes and aspirations for a better life for all citizens in developing and developed countries.

We wish all our leaders well on the summit as they carry our hopes. Maluleke is South Africa’s auditor-general, the current chair of the SAI20. For more information on SAI20 visit our website: sai20.org