South Africa’s ex-finance minister, Tito Mboweni, is dead.
Naija News learnt that the veteran politician died on Saturday evening at age 65.
The South African presidency, in a statement, said the former anti-apartheid activist, who won praise for his fiscal prudence and for shaping the country’s labour laws, died due to illness and was surrounded by loved ones.
The statement read, “President Ramaphosa offers his condolences to the family and friends of Dr Mboweni who passed away following a short illness.
“Given his sense of vitality and energetic and affable engagement with fellow South Africans, his passing at 65 comes as a shock.
“His life was a testament to a life lived in sacrifice, dedication, and selfless service to the people of South Africa.”
During the apartheid years, Tito was in exile in neighbouring Lesotho from 1980 before returning to South Africa in 1990.
But in a decades-long political career, he won praise for architecting South Africa’s post-apartheid labour legislation.
He served as labour minister from 1994 to 1998 after the country’s first all-race elections of 1994 that ended apartheid rule.
Between 1999 and 2009, Tito was the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor.
In 2018, in his last cabinet portfolio before retiring from public service in 2021, he took charge of the country’s finance ministry, where he played an integral part in stabilising the country’s economy, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.
In between those periods, he held various roles in the private sector.
In his last years, Tito Mboweni won the hearts of South Africans with his humorous cooking content, often sharing meal recipes and engaging with people on X.
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