Johannesburg - Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has shot down speculation he was leaving government after his cryptic message on social media on Friday.
Mboweni told the SABC that he was not going anywhere and would stay on in his position as finance minister.
The minister had sparked speculation on his Twitter page after he spoke about leaving office graciously.
Politics and Longevity. Political history shows that overstaying your time in office is bad. Unlike royalty, you may be ejected from State House in an undignified manner. It is good to retire gracefully.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 17, 2020
But he later said he was referring to heads of state in Africa who overstayed their welcome.
"Resigning from where? No, no, no. I was referring to heads of state who have overstayed their welcome. I'm not a head of state," Mboweni said.
Mboweni has been finance minister since October 2018 when he took over from then minister Nhlanhla Nene.
He has spoken out on several key policy issues.
He drew the ire of the ANC this week when he questioned the resolution of the Nasrec conference to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank.
The Sarb this week also refused to be drawn into the matter saying it has said that ought to have been said in the past.
Mboweni is part of ANC members attending the four-day meeting of the ruling party in Pretoria this weekend.