Opposition parties welcome Mboweni’s appointment
Black business also happy
Tito Mboweni’s appointment yesterday as the new finance minister has been widely welcomed.
Several organisations described the former labour minister and Reserve Bank governor as the right man to pull the economy out of recession and junk status, and tackle the unemployment.
Mboweni’s appointment was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa following the resignation of Nhlanhla Nene.
The Black Business Council’s president Sandile Zungu said: “Mr Mboweni is a veteran who served as minister of labour under former president Nelson Mandela and as such, he is the right person to steer the country out of the current financial challenges.
“He will be able to implement the stimulus package that will achieve job creation targets as set at the recently held job summit.”
Alex Mashilo, the SACP spokesperson, said Mboweni’s appointment was well received by his party.
Meanwhile, the EFF, which was calling for Nene’s head, also welcomed Ramaphosa’s decision. “The EFF welcomes the decision by Ramaphosa to remove Nene following his lying about his relations with the Gupta criminal syndicate,” party spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.
However, economist Duma Gqubule said he was disappointed that Ramaphosa has not appointed someone who could take the economy into a new trajectory, as he wondered if Mboweni would push for a state bank.
Mboweni, during his tenure as the Reserve Bank governor, strongly advocated for the SA economy to have its own banks – arguing that this would bring stability and minimise risk in the financial service sector.