Dondo Mogajane appointed NDB director
THERE is still no spot for the former minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene on the Brics New Development Bank (NDB) after former SA Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni was shown the door as a non-executive director last week.
This is despite Nene’s infamous sacking in 2015 with President Jacob Zuma saying Nene was set to play a key role at the development bank.
Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba said on Friday that the director-general of National Treasury, Dondo Mogajane, has been appointed as the new director representing South Africa.
Mboweni said in a Facebook post last week after news emerged that seemed to suggest that he was pushed out of the role: “What is true though is that I was ‘removed’ by the South African Government as a non-executive director of the Brics Bank last week.
“They have their own logic and reasons for doing that.
“I served for two years and at the time of my appointment, I was told, via a letter from Minister Nhlanhla Nene, that the term was a renewable one.
“But alas, this has not been the case. Fired, you might say!! It’s OK. They are the government of the day after all. They can do as they wish,” Mboweni’s post read.
Mboweni commenced his term as South Africa’s director at the NDB on July 3, 2015, for a two-year term, which ended on July 2, 2017.
In justifying the sacking of Nene in 2015, President Jacob Zuma said the move was because Nene would be nominated to head the African region of the NDB.
The appointed has yet to materialise and Nene has since joined Allan Gray as a non-executive director and was recently announce by Wits University as the interim head of its Business School until the position is filled permanently next year.
Gigaba in his statement thanked Mboweni for his service.
“In a letter formally informing Mr Mboweni of the decision, Minister Gigaba has thanked Mr Mboweni for his excellent representation of the government of South Africa as a member of the board and chair of the Audit, Risk and Budget Compliance Committee with commendable professionalism and dedication,” the statement said.
Gigaba’s nomination and subsequent appointment of Mogajane will ensure that no additional costs are incurred further by the government in remunerating an appointment from outside of public service, while also enhancing strategic alignment and collaboration between the government of South Africa and the bank.
Mogajane was appointed treasury’s director-general in June, following the resignation of Lungisa Fuzile in April. Fuzile resigned shortly after Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas were removed as the minister and deputy minister of finance respectively in a cabinet reshuffle.
Mogajane was deputy director-general responsible for the Public Finance division at National Treasury before his elevation to the director-general role, and his appointment was welcomed by the markets as they deemed him to have the requisite institutional memory as he served in various roles with the National Treasury since 1999.
The National Treasury on Friday also announced that deputy minister of Finance, Sfiso Buthelezi, has been appointed as the Alternate Governor of the NDB for South Africa, while Monale Ratsoma, the deputy director-general for economic policy at the National Treasury, in his capacity as acting deputy director-general for International and Regional Economic Policy, will continue to serve as alternate director of the NDB for South Africa.
Gigaba stressed that the appointments are also in line with the practice of the other founding members of the bank whose representatives are from their countries’ ministries of finance and treasury departments.
Mogajane is familiar with serving on multinational institutions. Between 2007 and 2010 he represented South Africa at the Executive Board of the World Bank as senior adviser for Africa Group 1 countries.
Dondo Mogajane represented South Africa at the Executive Board of the World Bank.