Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2018/10/09

The Democratic Alliance says Tito Mboweni has been plucked out of political obscurity to take over the reigns as the finance minister of the country.

A short while ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Mboweni as the country’s new finance minister, making the former reserve bank governor the latest addition to cabinet following the resignation of Nhlanhla Nene this morning.

Nene’s Self Destruction

Ramaphosa faced mounting calls to axe Nene after he apologised on Friday for holding a series of meetings with the Guptas at their home and business.

Last week Nene testified at the State Capture Inquiry that he had met with members of the Gupta family several times between 2009 and 2014 contradicting previous statements in which he had told eNCA that he only bumped into members of the controversial family at public gatherings.

Concerns With Mboweni?

David Maynier, the DA’s shadow minister of finance told Radio Islam that they congratulate Mboweni on his appointment.

“I think obviously with his experience, the new finance minister will have the advantage of being able to hit the ground running, and at least his known to market participants to rating agencies and international financial institutions who of course follow events very carefully in South Africa.”

However, Maynier says there are concerns with Mboweni being the new finance minister.

“When he was out in the political cold, he often came out I thought on social media as he often tweeted content that was at odds with government policy.”

Maynier adds that they hope Mboweni will clarify these issues in the run up to mid-term budget speech set to take place in two weeks’ time in parliament.

Listen To The Full Interview Below: