Treasury appoints Pieterse head of asset management

National Treasury appointed Duncan Pieterse to head its assets and liability management unit to replace Tshepiso Moahloli, who resigned after less than a year in the post.

Pieterse, the deputy director-general of economic policy at the Treasury, will take up the post on October 16, weeks before the medium-term budget on November 4, but will have been involved in crafting the statement in his present role. Boipuso Modise, chief director of modelling and forecasting, becomes acting head of economic policy, the Treasury said in a statement. Pieterse holds a PhD, masters and bachelor of business science degrees, according to the department. Before joining the Treasury in 2013, he was a visiting research fellow at Brown and Yale universities. 

“This is a massive opportunity for renewal in the assets and liability management unit, which has floundered for the last decade,” said Peter Attard Montalto, head of capital markets research at Intellidex. “Duncan will be warmly welcomed by the markets as the right person to do so. The agenda is daunting though, including Eskom debt, climate financing and government bond management, which all need fresh thinking.”

Moahloli was appointed to the post in December, having previously served in an acting position at the ALM unit. The Treasury didn’t provide reasons for her departure. The November budget will be the first under newly appointed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

While key metrics are likely to show an improvement after statistics authorities changed the way GDP is calculated, investors will look to the Treasury for clear strategies to lower debt, reduce budget deficits and to return public finances to a sustainable position.

Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com