Dignity is wealth enough

Johannesburg hums with flashing lights,

Motorcades cut through restless nights.

Leaders gather, twenty strong,

To speak of growth, of right and wrong

They talk of trade, of debt relief,

Of climate pledges, bold yet brief.

But outside halls of glass and steel,

The people march with louder zeal.

“Eleven women lost each day,

How can your numbers wash this away?

We shut down streets, we raise our voice,

Justice is not a market’s choice.”

And still we ask, as they convene,

Whose good is served in this grand scene?

Is it for us, the people’s claim,

Or for themselves, their power’s game?

Africa’s seat, long overdue,

Demands respect, demands what’s true.

Not charity, but rightful claim,

A continent rising, not the same.

The Reserve Bank counts inflation’s tide,

But mothers grieve, and youth decide:

That dignity is wealth enough,

And promises must turn to stuff.

So G20 meets, but South Africa shows,

The summit’s power, the people oppose.

For justice here is not a guest,

It’s the heartbeat that won’t rest.

– Ncamiso Mnisi

Ncamiso Mnisi is an environmental justice activist from Carolina, Mpumalanga. She leads water monitoring efforts and advocates for feminist organising in Silobela.