CAROL PATON: Bold Mboweni our first finance minister in years with real influence
There is an element of him that is maverick and a little unpredictable. But he does have the ability to be the counterweight to the ideological crudity into which the ANC has descended
Tito Mboweni’s appointment as finance minister is a wonderful turnup for the books. While the departure of Nhlanhla Nene was untimely and much lamented in the business community, we now have the good fortune of a better finance minister. Not that Nene was no good, but in Mboweni we have one who will have greater intellectual and political influence. It will be good for the Treasury, for the cabinet, for business and for the country at large. It will also affect the ANC in an important way. In the few weeks that he has been political head of the Treasury Mboweni has boldly aired his views in public (and in the Treasury) with refreshing candour. For instance, no ANC cabinet minister has ever said in public that SAA should be sold if the state can’t run it properly. No ANC cabinet minister has ever said that jobs in Eskom should be cut or that the public sector wage bill must be reduced by 5%. Within a week Mboweni said all of these things. With everyone, including President Cyril Rama...
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