‘Mboweni will be able to implement #StimulusPackage’

CAPE TOWN – The Black Business Council (BBC) on Monday welcomed the appointment of former Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni as the new Finance Minister, replacing Nhlanhla Nene.

Mboweni holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from the National University of Lesotho and a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia.

“Mboweni is a veteran who served as Minister of Labour under President Nelson Mandela from May 1994 to July 1998 and as such, he is the right person to steer the country out of the financial challenges that we currently face. 

“In our view, he will be able to implement the stimulus package that will get the country to achieve the job creation target set at the recently held job summit” said Sandile Zungu, BBC President.

“We are looking forward to working closely with Mr. Mboweni in stabilising the finances of the country as we fight the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality”. Zungu concluded

Meanwhile, the rand strengthened 31c to R14.75 just minutes before the announcement from an intra-day weakness of R15.06.

At 5pm, the rand strengthened 11c to R14.76 from Monday’s 5pm bid of 14.87, immediately after the announcement where he, with immediate effect, replaced Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene with Mboweni.

The domestic currency, which was under pressure for the better part of the day, brushed off the reports remaining range-bound with a wider focus on global markets data. 

A Twitter poll by Business Report on whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should accept Nene’s request to step down as the finance minister and have him replaced with somebody else found that the nation was divided. 

According to the BR poll, 51 percent of voters thought that Nene should be replaced or sacked while 49 percent of those who voted felt that Ramaphosa should stick with Nene as the country’s finance boss.

BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE