CLAIRE BISSEKER: Mboweni still best person for finance job, but ...
He has all the right professional and political attributes but he appears not to have given it his all
In 2018, when Tito Mboweni replaced Nhlanhla Nene, I said he was likely to become SA’s most colourful and opinionated finance minister since Trevor Manuel. I underestimated the former Reserve Bank governor. High-handed and contrarian, he has quickly established himself as SA’s most colourful and opinionated finance minister ever. President Cyril Ramaphosa will soon announce his new cabinet, but it is uncertain whether Mboweni will stay on. And if he does, it might be due to an absence of suitable candidates rather than because “The Governor” (as he insists on still being called) is the best man for the job. Mboweni has sent out mixed signals about his commitment to the post, on occasion telling audiences that he wouldn’t be around after the election. It is also no secret that he spends as little time as possible at the ministry in Pretoria, preferring to work from his farm in Limpopo. Then there’s his Trumpian tweeting habit. During the weekend after the general election, he tweeted...
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