Tito Mboweni: Frank, principled, eccentric – and instrumental in shaping SA
Tito Mboweni, the country’s labour minister under Nelson Mandela, the first black SA Reserve Bank (SARB) governor, and later finance minister under President Cyril Ramaphosa, was opinionated, eccentric, and often publicly critical of his party, the ANC.Mboweni’s death at the age of 65 was announced by his family late on Saturday night.
Mboweni was instrumental in developing SA’s labour landscape after apartheid, being hawkish when necessary at the SARB, and coming in clutch as finance minister in the aftermath of state capture. He was praised by opposition parties as a principled person who was open to discussion and debate, and by labour despite clashes over issues like the public sector wage bill.
He was famously faced with a combination of curiosity, criticism and praise over his dress sense, preferring old patchy clothes, 30-year-old jackets and thoroughly worn-in leather shoes.
Social media users used a picture of his famous Clarks footwear to express that he left big shoes to fill.
More recently, Mboweni, who called himself the 'Duke of the Duchy of Magoebaskloof' after his home in Limpopo, found social media fame for his cooking updates. This unofficial career for Mboweni, who could be heavy-handed with garlic and showed a preference for tinned fish, was significant enough to be mentioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday night.
"He conducted himself with expert rigour while maintaining the personable touch that made him a social media star and ambassador for Modjadjiskloof’s culinary traditions," the president said, referencing the specific area where Mboweni lived.
Legacy
In fact, Mboweni’s father was once a chef in Johannesburg.
His grandfather was among the 600 men who died when the SS Mendi, a ship carrying Black South African troops being deployed to France to assist the allies during World War I, sank in the English Channel in 1917.
Mboweni was born the youngest of three children on 16 March 1959 in Bordeaux, near Tzaneen.
He studied for a bachelor of commerce degree at the University of the North between 1979 and 1980, but did not finish, as he left the country to go into exile. While in Lesotho, he joined the ANC. He subsequently received a bachelor of arts degree in economics and political science from the National University of Lesotho, and in 1988 he obtained a master of arts degree in development economics from the University of East Anglia in England.
"I suppose you can call me an exile kid and an international kid born in South Africa, but my home is in South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, the United Kingdom, Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Swaziland, the USA, Switzerland, and everywhere I stayed in my youth. I hate narrow nationalism – cannot stand it. I hate xenophobia," he said in a speech in 2004.
His views on xenophobia were reinforced when his son Tumelo was arrested in Sandton in 2013 for allegedly being "too dark" and suspected of being a foreigner.
Tumelo, then 23, was travelling in a taxi when the vehicle was stopped at a police roadblock, and he was asked to show his passport. "You’re a foreigner here, and as you don’t have a passport, we’re going to deport you. You’re under arrest," Tumelo told City Press the officer told him. After a friend fetched his passport, Mboweni's son was released from custody.
Long career
Mboweni was appointed deputy head of economic policy in the ANC before eventually forming part of Mandela's Cabinet in 1994, serving as labour minister. During that time, he oversaw the introduction of the Labour Relations Act and the creation of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
In 1998, he joined the SARB as an advisor to then-governor Chris Stals. A year later, he was appointed as the eighth governor.
"There’s going to be a different signature on the banknotes, and people must remember it’s new, and there are different reactions to change," he said at the time.
In response to his appointment, the rand fell 5.3%.
However, Mboweni earned global respect during his ten years as head of the central bank and was named central bank governor of the year by European financial magazine Euro Money in 2001.
Under Mboweni, who was seen a hawk, the SARB hiked rates several times, with the repo rate hitting 13.5% in 2002.
After leaving the SARB in 2009, Mboweni took on several roles in the private sector. He was chair of Nampak, AngloGold Ashanti, SacOil, and the Accelerate Property Fund. He was a director at PPC for two years before quitting in 2017 amid reports that he didn’t agree with the company’s then-plans to merge with Afrisam.
He was also, notably, a director on boards of several Discovery companies, having been recruited by CEO Adrian Gore, and had championed plans for Discovery Bank for some time before it was eventually launched. He did, however, lament that the health-conscious Gore insisted on giving him 'grass' for lunch.
Gore said on Sunday that the former minister was a "close friend".
"Tito had a massive impact on our country, our business, and on me. He made the people he led feel his unconditional support and confidence; you felt good about yourself when you were with him – the hallmark of an exceptional leader. He leaves a massive gap as a board member and as a treasured friend."
'Let's debate'
Mboweni also served as an international advisor to Goldman Sachs International.
In 2018, he was appointed finance minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa after the resignation of Nhlanhla Nene. He, however, had previously said he would not want to take on the role.
"Against the wisdom of my team, please don’t tell them this. It’s between us, I am not available for minister of finance. You cannot recycle the same people all over again. It is time for young people. We are available for advisory roles. Not Cabinet. We have done that."
Despite this, Mboweni took on the role with gusto, with the markets approving his appointment.
A characteristic of his budget speeches was the continued accompaniment of an aloe ferox plant, used as a surrogate of sorts for the economy. Mboweni started his addresses by giving an update on its health.
"The aloe ferox survives and thrives when times are tough," the minister said before the coronavirus struck. "It actually prefers less water. It wins even when it seems the odds are against it."
When the pandemic was in full swing, Mboweni used it in his medium-term budget.
"[The aloe] can survive the harshest of circumstances and can certainly withstand a pandemic... Our little aloe ferox has survived. It is recovering."
This is how it ended
Mboweni was vocal about ANC policies he disagreed with, including around nationalising the SARB. He said in a tweet in 2020 that "as of now, 90% of the SARB profits are handed over to the National Revenue Fund. So? What do we want to achieve? Tell the public. Let's debate. Don't say internal debates, this is a fundamental national debate."
Mboweni was replaced by Enoch Godongwana in 2021, and he later resigned as an MP.
Godongwana said on Sunday that Mboweni served SA with "immeasurable distinction".
"We have lost a titan. A thinker, a doer, and above all a patriot. I am lost for words and heartbroken," Godongwana said.
Mboweni’s last food post was on 28 September, two weeks before his death.
"This is how it ended. I enjoyed them bones. Home cooked meals are great," he said.