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Maria Ramos and Tito Mboweni at a function in Johannesburg, October 25 2011. Picture: KEVIN SUTHERLAND
Maria Ramos and Tito Mboweni at a function in Johannesburg, October 25 2011. Picture: KEVIN SUTHERLAND

Tito Mboweni and I shared a deep, caring friendship, spanning more than 30 years. It was a friendship forged in the struggle for democracy and anchored in the values, beliefs, hopes and aspirations of a better life for all. Ours was a friendship built on respect, trust, integrity, love and care.

My last conversation with him was on the afternoon of August 31. Trevor and I were on a gorilla trek at Volcanoes National Park in his much-admired Rwanda and I had missed his call earlier that day. I sent him some photos and we spoke about the extraordinary experience with the gorillas, but our conversation soon turned to the relationship between the importance of well-designed policies, implementation, accountability, leadership and economic outcomes.

All of this was evident in Rwanda, according to Mboweni, an extraordinary South African and African. In his view, SA needed bolder decisions, more effective implementation and more accountability. 

His commitment, focus and passion remained on driving a more ambitious transformation of economies across the African continent. At the launch of the African Transformation Index (ATI), during a summit hosted by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) at the University of Pretoria to commemorate Africa Day, May 25, Mboweni said: “Everybody thinks about growth and its importance, and more often than not people think growth is going to solve everything.

The late Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni at the Rand Club in 2009. Picture: JOHN LIEBENBERG
The late Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni at the Rand Club in 2009. Picture: JOHN LIEBENBERG

“The view at ACET is that growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for sustainable, inclusive development ... Therefore, we include technological innovation.”

Our “Rwanda” conversation ended with “See you in Joburg” and a promise from me that I would cook, and we would talk about the challenges facing our economy and what was to be done ... and catch up on life.

Confronting the fact that there will not be another shared meal or another conversation is indescribably hard.

Winding back the clock 35 years, it is important to acknowledge the pivotal role he played as deputy head of the ANC’s department of economic policy. Apart from having to establish the department inside the country (I still have a copy of the memo motivating for this and the budget dated June 4 1990) he had to shape and prepare the ANC’s economic policy transition and guide it through a period of huge change, taking account of the need to address the injustices and devastation of apartheid and preparing to govern. This was at a time when the geopolitical and global economic environment was shifting rapidly. 

Mboweni relied on the disciplines provided by economics but always understood that these needed to find application in everyday life. He was as comfortable with Karl Marx and Das Kapital as with Adam Smith and The Wealth of Nations. He never stopped reading and learning and just recently he had read Martin Slater’s The National Debt and wanted me to write something on sovereign debt. He refused to be confined by the borders of the mind or geography.

Mboweni was not intimidated by ideas, differences of opinion or perspectives. He didn’t resort to easy populist dogma and labels. He delighted in challenging ideas and could be irreverent. He read widely and would often call with a “suggested reading list”. He maintained an extensive collection of books, articles and ANC documents and was comfortable with being challenged, and equally he challenged hard. Mboweni was an innovator and nonconformist. He was an internationalist and never hesitated to encourage people to read, travel, learn and share experiences across the globe.

One of his strengths was his ability to navigate complexity and understand the world beyond the borders of SA. In the early days of our democracy, he worked tirelessly to ensure that a post-apartheid SA and government would be given credit for the policies and institutions it was building. Pippa Green, in her book Choice, not Fate: the Life and Times of Trevor Manuel, describes in detail how Mboweni and Manuel traversed the globe, attended meetings and engaged investors, policymakers, NGOs and countless others to talk about SA. 

All of this may seem easy now. None of it was. It was intense, exciting and above all driven by an unshakeable sense of purpose that we were working to build a democracy, an inclusive economy and a capable state with a new constitution. It required huge courage, determination, hard work, unquestionable integrity, resilience, vision and leadership. It also required unwavering guidance, support and exemplary and visionary leadership from presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.

It is worth noting that when he was appointed minister of finance in 2018 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, he was confronted with a dire set of fiscal and economic challenges which he addressed boldly and in his inimitable, forthright manner — much to the dismay of many. 

Mboweni’s contribution to SA’s economic, political and social history and landscape is forever etched in the fabric of our democracy. In the institutions that define it, from the labour laws that protect the basic rights of workers to the institutions created to support dialogue and engagement such as Nedlac. It is evident in the shape and character of the independence of the Reserve Bank which we had so carefully defined, negotiated and embodied in our constitution. Inflation targeting had its foundations and development during his tenure. It was implemented in 2000 and constituted a key pillar in the transformation of the conduct of monetary policy in SA.

Being the eighth governor of the Bank remained Mboweni’s most cherished role. It is worth noting that when he was appointed minister of finance in 2018 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, he was confronted with a dire set of fiscal and economic challenges which he addressed boldly and in his inimitable, forthright manner — much to the dismay of many. He was clear and careful to ensure that the social relief of distress grant would provide support to the poor most at risk during Covid-19.

He remained vested in the education and development of young people throughout his life. He could be militant about the need for education, capacity building, talent development and investment in further education, especially in economics and finance. He took a genuine interest in how young people were progressing and could be “professorial” and a tough taskmaster if standards weren’t being met to his satisfaction.

Mboweni did not avoid pointing out the importance of the choices and trade-offs required; the decisions that need to be made if progress is to be achieved. He often lamented that there was an insufficient understanding between talking about things and getting them done. In the same way, economists often confuse sufficient with necessary conditions for growth, sustainable and inclusive development. You need both.

He often spoke about retiring to his beloved Magoebaskloof, writing and being a university professor. He loved knowledge and he was a great teacher. He was vested in building, sharing and expanding the universe of ideas. He would get annoyed with me because I didn’t obey his many requests to write.

He could be unbelievably charming and at times frustratingly annoying. He could be pompous too. Who could forget the black-tie dinners he insisted on as director-general of the Treasury at the time. I thought the dress code was crazy and didn’t attend, much to his annoyance.

He was eccentric without trying. He had a great sense of humour and could laugh at himself. He had a remarkable ability to connect with people. Unlike so many of us of his generation, and against repeated advice, he chose to “live” in the public space of social media, where he was generally popular. He was delighted by the connectivity it provided and loved that he had become a much-followed and celebrated social media “chef”. In his unique and charming style, he posted his successes and failures. He wasn’t afraid of trial and error. One thing he couldn’t be moved on was the copious amounts of garlic.

He was immensely proud of his family and above all he loved his sons and grandchildren deeply and unconditionally. He never ceased to post about the many family events, mostly at his home in Magoebaskloof. He never tired of showing it off, of extolling the virtues of the misty mountains that surround it, the beauty and tranquillity of the place and, most importantly, all of its people. He took every opportunity to retreat home, to what he often called the “duchy of Magoebaskloof’”. It was where he felt most at peace and connected with himself.

Mboweni lived his life to the full and in service of SA and Africa. In his memory, we must continue to expand on the frontiers of knowledge, opportunity and possibilities to achieve a more meaningful more inclusive and transformative growth. His passing leaves a huge void in our lives. Trevor and I and our family will miss him. 

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