Get rid of corruption to keep Tito’s legacy alive, says expert

As South Africa today gives a final salute to former finance minister and central bank governor Tito Mboweni, a leading political expert has identified the elimination of the embedded state corruption as key in rebuilding the party and preserving Mboweni’s legacy of clean governance.

Known for principled leadership and integrity, the visionary Mboweni has been credited for launching the progressive Basic Conditions of Employment Act while serving in Nelson Mandela’s Cabinet as labour minister.

He once famously said: “One day the true ANC will emerge, once all the mice and rats have left.”

Mboweni was referring to ANC members joining the party to occupy strategic and influential positions in government, making it easier to loot state coffers.

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Tito Mboweni outspoken and diligent

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver the eulogy at the official funeral of Mboweni, due to take place at the Nkowankowa Stadium in Limpopo’s Tzaneen.

An economist who transformed the SA Reserve Bank during his tenure as governor, 65-year-old Mboweni has served as a member of the ANC national executive committee and was known for being outspoken about key issues affecting the country.

While corruption in the ranks of the party could be identified before the Jacob Zuma presidency, its 52nd 2007 national conference in Polokwane, which voted in Zuma as president, “opened the floodgates”, independent political analyst Sandile Swana said.

“The problem was new opportunists coming into the ANC. There was also a problem of old comrades who felt entitled to loot state resources for themselves and their families.

“Comrades were also in company of wealthy business people.

“After the Polokwane conference, the first thing comrades did was to abolish the police corruption-busting unit, Scorpions,” said Swana.

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Reflecting on Mboweni, who became a minister in his early 30s, Swana said: “Young Tito was driven by one ambition: to run state affairs better than in the apartheid era.

“He and [former president] Thabo Mbeki were economists. “While putting working economic policies and systems in place, they developed significant cash reserves for the state,” said Swana.

“They achieved much for the state.”