If you have not been out for a while and need reminding, a ‘plus-1’ is an extra guest allowed on an invitation to a social event. Which begs the question – well, two in fact: Who was the ‘plus-1’, and where was this social event held?

I’ll answer the latter question first: the event was held in the UK. According to the UK government’s guidance for entering England, countries are rated as red, amber or green for the coronavirus, and certain rules must be followed by travellers from abroad. In case you had any doubt, South Africa is indeed on the red list.

The guidance specifies “what you must do if you have been in a country or territory on the red list in the ten days before you arrive in England”. It states: “Before travelling to England, you must: (i) take a Covid-19 test, (ii) book a quarantine hotel package, including two Covid-19 tests, and (iii) complete a passenger locator form.” On arrival in England, “you must quarantine in a managed hotel, including two Covid-19 tests”.

The guidance adds: “Everyone allowed to enter England who has been in a red list country in the ten days before they arrive must: (i) quarantine for ten full days in a managed quarantine hotel (the day you arrive in England counts as Day 0); (ii) take a coronavirus test on or before Day 2 and on or after Day 8 of quarantining; and (iii) follow the national restrictions.”

This raises questions about Plus-1. On June 11, President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived at Cornwall Airport Newquay to attend the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, from June 11 to 13, as a representative of South Africa, a guest country. In case geography is not your forte, Cornwall is a county on England’s rugged south-western tip. As for the ten-day quarantine, there was no such restriction for the President.

But why was Ramaphosa at the summit? No, no – South Africa is not a G7 member. The G7, or Group of Seven, is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. These are the world’s largest, advanced economies and wealthiest liberal democracies.

If you were wondering whether there is, or was, another G group, there was indeed a G8; in fact, there was a G8+5 as well. The G8 was the G7 plus Russia, while the G8+5 consisted of the G7 plus Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (the so-called Brics bloc) as well as Mexico. However, with Russia having been cast out in March 2014, owing to the Crimea crisis in Ukraine, the remaining ‘Bric’ countries (Brazil, India and China) and Mexico were effectively also cast out.

Returning to why South Africa was at the G7 Summit – well, South Africa is hardly the largest economy on the African continent, which it was during the time of the G8+5. South Africa is also not the fastest-growing economy on the continent. Its only remaining economic claim is that it is the most diversified economy. For the moment.

According to The Presidency, Ramaphosa was “invited in recognition of South Africa’s leadership role on the continent and globally in the fight against the pandemic, including championing vaccine equity within and between nations.

“South Africa has also been invited for its role as co-chair of the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council, which aims to expedite research, manufacturing and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics across the world.” ‘ACT’ stands for ‘Access to Covid-19 Tools’, which, yes, I too did not know until I consulted my favourite search engine.

It appears that Plus-1 was imploring his guests to grant a favour, more likely favours, with the hosts having no expectation of reciprocation. In a word, this is called ‘begging’.