Tito Titus Mboweni (1959–2024)

16 March 1959–12 October 2024

The University of Cape Town (UCT) mourns the passing of the first black South African Reserve Bank (SARB) governor, Tito Mboweni, who contributed immensely across politics and economics in the establishment of the new South Africa.

Mboweni passed away in hospital after a short illness on Saturday, 12 October 2024, surrounded by his loved ones. He was 65.

In honour and recognition of his impactful contribution and dedication to building an economically transformed and democratic South Africa, UCT awarded Mboweni with a degree in Economic Sciences (honoris causa) in 2010.

He enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of the North in 1979 but went into exile in Lesotho in 1980. There, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the National University of Lesotho in 1985. Two years later, he qualified with a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.

A leader and compatriot

He played a meaningful role in driving economic transformation and social change throughout his distinguished career.

A strong ANC activist and leader, Mboweni served as the deputy head of the Department of Economic Policy in the ANC. He was the chairperson of the National Executive Committee’s Economic Transformation Committee, which coordinated the development of the ANC’s economic policies. In 1997, Mboweni was made head of the ANC’s Policy Department, which was responsible for managing ANC policy processes.

He was minister of labour from May 1994 to July 1998. Prior to that appointment, Mboweni was deputy head of the Department of Economic Policy in the African National Congress (ANC). He was the eighth governor of the SARB and served from 1999 to 2009. He joined the SARB in July 1998 as advisor to the governor. He was a minister of finance of South Africa from 2018 to 2021.

At the time of his passing, he served as the chairperson of the African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET), a global agency driving sustainable economic efforts through, among other things, increased productivity, upgraded technology and improved human well-being in the private and public sectors. He was also a director of various companies.

President Cyril Ramaphosa described Mboweni as a leader and compatriot who has served our nation as an activist, economic policy innovator and champion of labour rights.