Along a highway into the city, Johannesburg, an enormous orange banner appeared that was put up by members of the white Afrikaner minority: “Welcome to the most race-regulated country in the world,” it said, echoing claims made recently by President Trump.

Nearby, a group promoting women’s rights raised a very different billboard, featuring an image of a purple and black coffin: “Welcome to the country where women are only safe in a casket,” it said, referring to the staggering number of women who have been abused or murdered in the country.

Several groups, from frustrated college students to anti-immigration activists, are planning to hold protests and work stoppages this weekend, when Johannesburg hosts the first Group of 20 summit to be held in Africa.

While most South Africans have viewed Mr. Trump’s false claims [!!] of a white genocide in South Africa as an effort to sully their country’s image, they have had no qualms about seizing on the summit as a chance to air their domestic grievances.

Many locals are vying to tell the arriving guests — and by extension, their own leaders — everything they believe is wrong with South Africa.

“The government is not paying enough attention,” said Sabrina Walter, the founder and executive director of Women for Change, which put up the billboard with the coffin. The group has also called on women and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community to refuse to work or spend money when the heads of state are in town. “We have delegates from all over the world,” Ms. Walter said. “We need to get as much attention on this issue as possible now.”

For many South Africans, the summit is a source of pride, a recognition of their country’s status as the largest economy on the continent. But the nation is also among the world’s most unequal, struggling with high unemployment and crime and an inability to provide most of its more than 60 million citizens with necessities like water and electricity.

But the expensive effort has stirred resentment among some locals, who wonder why their government cannot keep the city so clean and functional all the time. G20 signage and street and traffic lights along the route to the summit’s site have been vandalized, prompting local officials to vow to prosecute those responsible.

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