News24 | Central bankers laud Mboweni’s legacy as his global vision matters more than ever

At the inaugural Tito Mboweni Memorial Lecture, global central bankers paid tribute to his public service, emphasising that his push for stronger global institutions matters now more than ever, writes Hanlie Nordejee.

The role of the late Tito Mboweni in securing the SA Reserve Bank’s (SARB) independence — now so entrenched it seems untouchable — was celebrated by central bankers at an event on Thursday.

Beyond shielding the bank from political interference, they say Mboweni also introduced more transparent and predictable monetary policy decisions, making the institution more accountable to South Africans.

Credit for SA’s inflation-targeting regime, which was first introduced in 2000, was also given to Mboweni, who served as SARB governor from 1999 to 2009.

Mboweni’s contribution as a “key architect” of SA’s financial infrastructure was lauded on Thursday at the first Tito Mboweni Memorial Lecture held in Cape Town. Mboweni died on 12 October 2024, having served as Minister of Labour (1994-99), SARB Governor (1999-2009), and Minister of Finance (2018-21), with a stint as farmer and businessman in between. Mboweni jokingly gave himself another title: Duke of Makgobaskloof.

The inaugural lecture was given by Prof Axel Weber, president of the Centre for Financial Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt and former Deutsche Bundesbank President (2004-11) and focused on global imbalances.

Weber looked at the increasing geopolitical fragmentation and the need for stronger policy coordination globally to counter its effects. Mboweni himself had emphasised the need for strong international structures, Weber said.

The discussion after the lecture included Jacob Frenkel, chairman emeritus of the Group of 30 and former Governor of the Bank of Israel (1991-2000), and Guillermo Ortiz, treasurer of the G30 and former Governor of the Banco de México (1998-2009).

Their terms as central bankers all overlapped with Mboweni’s, and they worked together at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). His role in raising issues affecting emerging countries was a thread throughout, and especially relevant in the era of global trade tensions.

Weber praised Mboweni’s intellectual rigour, but also his humour, noting that conversations following BIS meetings in Basel, Switzerland, always took place over a cigar.

Introducing Weber, current SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago lauded Mboweni as a “giant in the world of policy and a close friend that I miss dearly.”

While never mentioning US President Donald Trump by name, Weber lambasted “protectionism disguised as protecting n