Tito Mboweni an unfortunate omission from Zuma’s new cabinet – Daily Newsletter

Published on:

26 May 2014, 10:38 am

Hi there,

Nhlanhla Nene, SA's new Finance Minister, proves that in politics, nothing is impossible. Two months back, the deputy to Pravin Gordhan looked to be headed for retirement as he was not on the ANC's official list of National Assembly candidates. Former SA Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni, 41st on that list, was widely tipped to succeed Gordhan. After all, he'd stepped down from the chairmanship of Anglogold Ashanti in mid-February. Nene, on the other hand, had the misfortune of being remembered best as the victim of faulty SABC equipment. During a televised interview that went viral on Youtube, his chair first creaked and then totally collapsed, dropping the wide-eyed Nene from the camera's view. Not many politicians would expect to come back after being the subject of such widespread mirth.

Yesterday's Sunday Times says Mboweni's got shafted by President Jacob Zuma's leftist allies, the communists and trade unions. The newspaper quoted an unnamed Communist Party bigwig complaining of Mboweni's "neo-liberal" ideas. Those with longer memories might recall that Mboweni's view of the world was adjusted after he spent time with predecessor Chris Stals and, later, the likes of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke during annual central bank Governor's meetings at Jackson Hole in the US.

Tito opened his mind and allowed a better understanding of reality to replace poorly conceived political dogma. In much the same way as Nelson Mandela allowed the facts to adjust his views on economic policy during his visit to Davos in 1991. The great economist John Maynard Keynes, when criticised about an altered view, responded with "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" Mboweni's experience suggests those with the ability to take Keynes's advice seem to get short shrift in SA politics. That's unfortunate. Because the starting point of building wisdom is knowing there is a great deal you don't know.

Best,
Alec