RANJENI MUNUSAMY: A fearless Tito Mboweni is ready to force SA to face its demons
We do not know the exact mandate Tito Mboweni was given when he had to rapidly replace Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in early October.
In various media engagements after his appointment, Mboweni made it clear that he had to be talked into the job as his preference was to remain in the private sector and be unconstrained in his random musings as a Twitter luminary.
The finance minister’s position in the cabinet is unlike any other. If you do not know what you are doing, it will chew you up and spit you out.
It is a beleaguered portfolio, made even worse by the awful economic climate and a government that is short on ideas about how to reverse the decline.
There was another dimension that had to be factored in when President Cyril Ramaphosa offered Mboweni the position. Mboweni believes that when he was governor of the Reserve Bank, he was part of a “dream team” that ensured optimum economic performance. In September, when there was still no hint that Nene would crash and burn and that he would land in the hot seat, Mboweni tweeted nostalgically: “There was a time when people talked about the 3 TMs (Prez Thabo Mbeki, Trevor Manuel and Tito Mboweni). The economy even reached 6% GDP growth! Remember that! Down memory lane!! With Prez CR, we can do that again but inclusive growth. Doable.” There is a risk that Mboweni’s new position could impair his legacy and curtail his bragging rights. But he would not have agreed to simply be a place-holder for seven months. He wants to make an impression, even if it means kicking over a few tables in the government and the tripartite alliance. In the medium-term budget policy statement he presented ...
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