Ramaphosa replaces #Nene with Mboweni

CAPE TOWN - South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday afternoon that he accepted Nhlanhla Nene's request to step down as the country's finance minister.

Ramaphosa made the announcement at the Tuynhuys Media Centre in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon, after two days of heavy speculation in the media that Nene requested to step down as the finance minister.

Ramaphosa said during the media briefing, "Minister Nene submitted a letter of resignation to me this morning, asking for him to be relieved as the finance minister of South Africa. In the interest of good governance, I have accepted his resignation. Nene served our people under difficult circumstances. It is a measure of Nene's character and commitment to the country that he has taken this decision."

Ramaphosa announced that former SA Reserve Bank governer, Tito Mboweni will replace Nene.

President #Ramaphosa: This moment calls for strong, capable and steady leadership that will unlock new opportunities as we grow and transform our economy.

I am confident that Mr Mboweni will provide that leadership.

— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) October 9, 2018

President #Ramaphosa: 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.

— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) October 9, 2018

President #Ramaphosa: In the wake of Mr Nene’s resignation, I have decided to appoint Mr Tito Mboweni as Minister of Finance with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/MowoxsnboA

— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) October 9, 2018

President #Ramaphosa: I wish to take this opportunity to thank him for his service to the nation. pic.twitter.com/uXkxbGf7vQ

— PresidencyZA (@PresidencyZA) October 9, 2018

REMOVE NENE

The pressure was mounting on President Ramaphosa to sack Nene after he confessed to secretly meeting the controversial Gupta family at their house. On Monday, EFF leader Julius Malema intensified his push for Nene to be removed in an open letter to Ramaphosa, saying he has a chance to clean up his Cabinet by also firing other tainted ministers.

“We reiterate our position that his continued stay as minister of finance is not in the best interest of South Africa. "Treasury cannot be presided over by a person without integrity,” Malema said.

The DA also weighed in on the Nene saga, saying Ramaphosa should drop him from his Cabinet.

DA MP David Maynier, in a statement, said: “We find it hard to believe that, under the circumstances, the minister has the full support of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who stated in his State of the Nation address on February 16 that ‘this is the year in which we will turn the tide of corruption in our public institutions’.

“We believe, therefore, that President Cyril Ramaphosa should accept the minister's offer to resign and act swiftly to replace him before the medium-term Budget policy statement is presented in Parliament.”