JOHANNESBURG (SOUTH AFRICA) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa reprimanded Finance Minister Tito Mboweni over comments he made on social media with regard to the dismissal of Zambia’s central bank governor, said the presidency on Monday.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu fired central bank governor Denny Kalyalya on Saturday without citing any explanation.
Mboweni, a former South African Reserve Bank governor himself, urged in now-deleted tweets Lungu to explain the dismissal.
The presidency statement read, “In one of his tweets, Minister Mboweni is promising to mobilise if not given reasons why the Central (bank) Governor has been fired by President Lungu.”.
“President Ramaphosa wishes to assure 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.”
Mboweni has been a Ramaphosa ally, and was appointed finance minister in 2018.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.