15.11.2025
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All systems go as JMPD finish safety drill ahead of G20 Summit

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  • South Africa will soon welcome world leaders to the G20SouthAfrica Summit scheduled for 22 – 23 November 2025, in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province.

In a significant step towards ensuring a smooth G20 summit, Johannesburg authorities have completed a comprehensive safety run. The Johannesburg Metro Police, South African Police Service, and the Road Traffic Management Corporation teamed up to conduct this critical exercise, testing emergency protocols and traffic management strategies.

From 9 AM to 1 PM, major roads around Johannesburg were closed, allowing police and traffic officials to simulate the event’s security measures. This dry run was crucial to identify any potential issues and ensure a seamless operation during the actual summit.

“It’s all hands on deck. 
We are preparing for next week’s summit. We’ve got officers on the ground ensuring that they do secure these routes, and the major routes, of course, that will be affected within the centre of Johannesburg is the N1, the M1, the N12, and of course, arterial and urban routes as well, in the areas like Sandton especially Grayston Drive, will be seeing most of the movement and the areas of Melrose Arch and Rosebank, in Westcliff and, in the south of Johannesburg, where we are right now on Nasrec Road, and Golden Highway, and of course, in areas like Fourways on Winnie Mandela Drive and Roodepoort on Hendrik Potgieter Road. Currently, the northern part the Randshow road has been completely closed off and now the southern part has been converted into a dual carriage,” JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla explains.

This exercise enables law enforcement agents to evaluate the response capabilities for managing traffic and security during the G20 summit. Fihla says the closures will not affect policing in other parts of the City.

“We have a contingency plan when it comes to roots in the ground and our manpower as well. 
As we do know, when it comes to the actual summit to end these operations leading towards the summit, it is a joint coordinated effort with various law enforcement agencies. So as the JMPD, we do have extra manpower to continue with the day-to-day enforcements and service delivery with the message of Johannesburg,” Fihla elaborates.

With world leaders and delegations set to converge in Johannesburg, security is paramount. Residents are advised to plan their travel accordingly, as increased traffic and road closures will be in effect leading up to the summit, as William Baloyi from GCIS explains.

“The indications are that we are ready. However, we just want to make an appeal, especially for residents around the areas that we are doing the dry run might be also here at Nasrec, also in Sandton, and other routes that will be affected as announced, to be patient with us, because what we are doing, we are continuing the tradition of making sure that all the events that we have hosted in this country have smoothly gone so well. And also we want to thank South Africans because they are alive to the role that this country plays in their community of nations,” says Baloyi.

Affected residents around the Nasrec expo centre are also gearing up for the influx of visitors.

“As residents of Ormonde View, we were informed that certain routes will be closed to accommodate the G20 event, so we do know about the event,” says a resident of Ormonde View.

“So far, everything has been smooth. There is a visible police presence, and as residents, we’ve been issued access cards to move in and out of the area. Nothing bad has occurred so far,” adds another resident of Ormonde View.

However, Nasrec ward counsellor Matsobane Sekhu expressed disappointment about the lack of clear information ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit.

“I still have a lot of questions that are being asked by the residents, and that tells me that there wasn’t enough information that was related to the community. There were some public participations, some meetings with the communities, but the first one happened outside of our region, into another region. That was a physical meeting. We had one, that was a virtual meeting, and I can tell you on that meeting the virtual one, we had a lot of people coming out to show that, you know, they are really interested in knowing what is happening with this G20 summit. But I think we still do not understand or have clear information of what is it all about,” adds Sekhu.

As preparations continue, residents are encouraged to keep a close eye on news broadcasts and social media posts, to stay informed on any updates regarding road closures and public transport options, as well as developments leading up to this important international event.

VIDEO | Joburg motorists cautioned of major road closures ahead of G20 Summit

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