Tebogo Msimanga
President Cyril Ramaphosa has strongly reprimanded the Minister of Finance, Mr Tito Mboweni, following the comments he made on social media regarding the removal of Zambia’s Central Bank Governor by President Edgar Lungu.
Lungu terminated Bank of Zambia governor Denny Kalyalya’s contract on Saturday.
In a tweet which he deleted , Mboweni wrote “Presidents in Africa must stop this nonsense of waking up in the morning and fire a Central Bank Governor! You cannot do that. This is not some fiefdoms of yours! Your personal property?! No!”
“That Governor was a good fella. Why do we do these things as Africans. The President of Zambia must give us the reasons why he dismissed The Governor – or else hell is on its way. I will mobilize!”
In a statement released by the presidency on Monday morning, President Ramaphosa assured the government and people of the Republic of Zambia that the unfortunate remarks do not reflect the views of the South African Government and its people.
Ramphosa said the issue is being addressed to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.
“South Africa and Zambia enjoy strong historical relations dating back to the days of the struggle against apartheid. South Africa remains committed to maintaining the deep and solid bonds of friendship between the peoples of South Africa and Zambia.”
