Former Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni has been named Finance Minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mboweni replaces Nhlanhla Nene who resigned as Finance Minister on Tuesday morning.
Ramaphosa said Nene cited his testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture last week as the reason for his resignation.
“Over the course of the last few days there has been much discussion among South Africans on matters that arose in the course of the testimony of Minister Nhlanhla Nene at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture,” Ramaphosa said.
On the state capture inquiry, Ramaphosa indicted that no person should be above scrutiny and that all relevant and credible accusations of wrongdoing should be thoroughly investigated.
“It is incumbent upon any person who may have knowledge of any of the matters within the commission’s mandate to provide that information to the commission, to do so honestly and to do so fully,” Ramaphosa said.
“For the country to move forward, we need to establish the full extent of state capture, identify those responsible for facilitating it, and take decisive steps to prevent it from happening again.
“Throughout this process, we need to be guided by the values and principles of our constitution, mindful of the importance of due process, committed to good governance and determined that the commission of inquiry will succeed in fulfilling its critical mandate.”
This is the second time Nene has been removed as finance minister after he was fired by former president Jacob Zuma in December 2015.
Mboweni was Reserve Bank governor for a decade, from 1999 to 2009 and he also served labour minister in former president Nelson Mandela’s cabinet.
“Mr. Mboweni takes on this responsibility at a critical moment for our economy, as we intensify cooperation among all social partners to increase investment, accelerate growth and create jobs on a substantial scale,” Ramaphosa said.