The African National Congress has welcomed the appointment of Former Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni as the new Finance Minister.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Mboweni’s appointment following Nhlanhla Nene’s resignation from the post. His resignation follows his public apology last week for holding a number of meetings with the Gupta family in private.
Mboweni was sworn in immediately after Ramaphosa’s announcement.
“We believe, as the ANC, that this is in the best interest of the country. The appointment of comrade Tito Mboweni as the new Minister of Finance is one appointment that will be able to move the country further forward because of his astuteness and his known experience, having served previously as the Governor of the Reserve Bank; having served as the Minister of Labour, and currently being part of the NEC of the ANC. But also, we appreciate the role that comrade Nhlanhla Nene himself has played as a member of the NEC,” says ANC Spokesperson Pule Mabe.
Meanwhile, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) says Mboweni’s appointment as the new Finance Minister will hopefully lead to a solution to poverty and unemployment in the country.
“We should welcome President Ramaphosa’s decision to show Nhlanhla Nene the door. We wish Tito Mboweni well and I’m sure that he can now advice Cyril Ramaphosa to sa,y ‘Madiba, Mbeki, Zuma tried this one. It didn’t work. So, we rather get a better ingredient to make sure that poverty and unemployment is addressed with immediate effect’,” says UDM leader Bantu Holomisa.
The Freedom Front Plus says Ramaphosa has done the correct thing in appointing Mboweni as the new minister.
FF+ President Pieter Groenewald says Nene too should be applauded for his decision in asking the President to release him.
“It was also the correct decision from Minister Nene to say that he wants to be released from his position as the Minister of Finance. It was also the correct decision to appoint Tito Mboweni as the new Minister of Finance. We believe that will restore confidence to potential investors in South Africa. Because it seems that President Cyril Ramaphosa will not allow the cloud over the minister of finance, and restores the integrity to the Treasury and to the taxpayers money, to South Africa.”
The Democratic Alliance says the appointment Mboweni will bring stability to the economy and allay the fears of investors in South Africa.
DA Finance Spokesperson in Parliament David Maynier says Mboweni’s appointment to his new position is a welcomed move.
“We would like to congratulate Tito Mboweni who has essential been plugged out of the political obscurity and appointed as the new finance minister in South Africa. We feel that with his experience, he would be able to hit the ground running. He has at least known to the market participants, to rating agencies and to the international financial institutions who very closely monitor events to South Africa.”
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