Gone Too Soon – A Tribute to Tito Mboweni

The late Queen Elizabeth II of England popularised the ancient Latin phrase “annus horribilis” back in 1992, referring to a year of personal disaster and scandal for the British Royal family. I feel it’s an appropriate term to use to describe 2024 for South Africans, as it’s the year in which we have tragically lost several of our most inspirational – and transformational – political figures.

In the past few months, I have paid personal tribute to such legends of our post-Apartheid era as Pravin Gordhan and Judge William Heath. Today, I will do my humble best to honour the late Tito Mboweni, who passed away on 12 October after a short illness, aged just 65.

Tito Mboweni was one of South Africa’s most respected politicians and a hugely influential economic policymaker. In his tenures as South African Reserve Bank Governor, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Labour, he was responsible for several significant economic and labour reforms.

A well-educated man, he held a BA in economics and political science from the National University of Lesotho, and an MA in developmental economics from the University of East Anglia. Stellenbosch University also awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2010, and appointed him Professor Extraordinary of Economics from 2002 to 2005.

As South Africa’s first black governor of the Reserve Bank, Tito Mboweni negotiated our country through an extremely challenging financial period. In 1999, inflation was rampant, and the value of the Rand was at one of its lowest points.

Thanks largely to his steering of the first monetary policy committee meetings, large-scale modernising of the Reserve Bank’s overall approach, and robust, inflation-busting policies, he successfully brought inflation down to between 3% and 6%, and restored the overall credibility of the Rand.

He was also instrumental in adding a welcome degree of transparency, openness and engagement between the Reserve Bank and everyday South Africans. He introduced, for example, the televising of policy statements, which replaced the previous system of communicating through printed documents.

But his contribution to the growth and prosperity of the new South Africa started even before his Reserve Bank appointment.

In 1990, following Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, there was a critical need for someone to negotiate with jittery business leaders. It was a time of huge uncertainty in our country, and Mr Mandela was eager to democratise South Africa’s economy without frightening big business (i.e. predominantly white gold and diamond mining conglomerates) into capital flight.

This monumental responsibility was given to Tito Mboweni, who was to have a powerful – and lasting – influence on the country’s development.

During the fraught transition period preceding the 1994 elections, the ANC was divided between the centre and the more radical left, who wanted mines and banks to be nationalised. Mr Mandela needed a pragmatic approach, and who better to provide one than Tito Mboweni?

An example of this occurred in 1992, when Nelson Mandela was invited to address global corporate leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. At the last minute, he realised that his speech, written by a supporter of the party’s more left-wing policies, committed South Africa to the controversial policy of nationalisation.

Mboweni quickly rewrote the offending paragraphs, softening the ANC’s stance on the issue.

It was not surprising then, that when the newly democratically elected ANC government was formed in 1994, President Mandela appointed Mr Mboweni, who was only 35 at the time, as his Minister of Labour.

Tito Mboweni went on to transform labour relations, introducing a new framework that included the right to strike and belong to a union of choice, as well as collective bargaining and a dispute resolution mechanism. He also worked closely with the International Labour Organization, to regulate conditions of employment in the workplace.

Although Mr Mboweni left the Reserve Bank in 2009, his legacy lives on. The Bank is still held in high regard internationally, and South Africa has an inflation rate that is considered well within global target ranges.

For almost a decade after leaving, he worked in the private sector, where his most notable role was as an advisor to investment bank Goldman Sachs. He also loved spending time on his avocado farm in the Magoebaskloof region of Limpopo.

But his reputation as a financial genius meant he was never going to be allowed to enjoy life away from government for very long.

In 2018, newly elected President Cyril Ramaphosa asked Tito to join his cabinet as minister of finance. He needed someone reliable, honest and transparent to try to repair the damage experienced after “the Zuma Years.”

It was undoubtedly the most challenging role Mboweni had yet accepted. Eskom was in freefall, requiring massive government bailouts just to keep the lights on, and of course, there was the disaster that was Covid – from which, I think it’s safe to say, we’re still recovering.

Tito’s ruthless programme of austerity did not endear him to large swathes of the ANC, but he persevered, unfettered by personal political ambitions. Being top of the popularity pile was not something that concerned him.

Experts generally agree that, as the finance minister, his three most consequential decisions in South Africa’s economic policy trajectory were:

1) To freeze government wages in 2020. The rapid and unsustainable increase in government wages concerned him greatly. Coupled with slowing economic growth, it meant our fiscal position was deteriorating rapidly. The wage freeze kick-started a slow return to the type of financial management that was the hallmark of the pre-Zuma era of government.

2) The publication of the “Tito Paper.” Officially known as “Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa,” the paper outlined a programme of much-needed economic reforms – including steps to lift the restrictions on private power generation.

3) The introduction of a comprehensive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included a significant expansion of the grants system. Research by the NIDS-CRAM initiative, led by Dr Nic Spaull of Stellenbosch University, has since highlighted the hugely positive effect this had on millions of people’s lives.

Tito Mboweni is largely credited with getting South Africa’s finances firmly back on track. In 2021, he stepped down as finance minister to go back into the private sector.

He also managed to find the time to indulge his passion for food and cooking, and became a keen food blogger, with 1.5 million followers on social media (some of whom teased him good-naturedly for his well-documented fondness for tinned pilchards).

I think it’s fitting to close with a tribute from President Ramaphosa, whose decision to appoint Tito Mboweni as Finance Minister was undoubtedly inspired.

“Given his sense of vitality and energetic and affable engagement with fellow South Africans, Dr Mboweni’s passing at 65 comes as a shock,” he said.? “We have lost a leader and compatriot who has served our nation as an activist, economic policy innovator and champion of labour rights.

“As Governor and Finance Minister, he had a sharp focus on fiscal discipline and economic transformation. [He] distinguished himself in different strategic roles in the private sector and was a flag bearer in global forums for our economy and developing economies more broadly.

“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.

“His passing is a great loss. May his soul rest in peace.”