By SIMON MUNTEMBA
SOUTH Africa Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, has deleted his tweets and backtracked on his attacks against Zambia.
Mr Mboweni, who is also former Governor of the Reserve Bank, deleted his scathing tweets following wide condemnation and reprimand from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The tweets were in relation to the sacking of Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya.
Mr Mboweni took a bizarre route of threatening to mobilise and unseat President Edgar Lungu.
He tweeted in response to the announced sacking of Dr Kalyalya that: “Presidents in Africa must stop this nonsense of waking up in the morning and firing a central bank Governor, you cannot do that. This is not some fiefdom of yours! Your personal property?”
Mr Mboweni followed through with another even more undiplomatic and relationship damaging socio media post.
He demanded that reasons for sacking of Dr Kalyalya be availed failure to which, he would mobilise against President Lungu.
The social media post which he has since deleted stated that, “why do we do these things as Africans, The Zambian President must give us reasons why he dismissed the Governor, or else, hell is on his way. I will mobilise!”
A further check showed that this was not the first time Mr Mboweni was taking a jab at the Zambian Government.
He is on record to have issued remarks disparaging Zambian Airways during a stopover in Lusaka while on his way to Kigali, Rwanda after attending the African Union‘s 12th Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State in Niamey, Niger.
Mr Mboweni reportedly tweeted: “I recall the days when this airport was populated by the Zambia Airways fleet. There is none now. Zambia Airways does not exist anymore. Reality check. But I am on Rwanda Air. A small African country doing big things.”
He also did not categorically apologise on this incident and got away with it.
President Lungu appointed Mr Christopher Mvunga as new Governor to take over from Dr Kalyalya last Saturday pending ratification by Parliament.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday issued a statement strongly reprimanding Mr Mboweni and assured Zambia that the views expressed by his finance minister did not represent his government’s view.
