‘Will Tito stay?’ and other post-election questions business is asking

‘Is Tito coming back?’

After former President Jacob Zuma’s various attacks on the Treasury, the person who holds the position of Finance Minister is important to the business community because it is a signal of economic direction.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni is a clear advocate for growth-led policies and his iconoclastic style is a winner. There is a list circulating which suggests he will not come back when President Cyril Ramaphosa announces his Cabinet.

It is likely that he will be back as a mark of stability and because he is Ramaphosa’s whisperer, speaking the uncomfortable truths the President cannot in South Africa’s often byzantine politics.

‘Will Cyril act now?’

Not really. In general, and in the private sector specifically, South Africa wants a strong man head of state to mop up the horrors of the Zuma era.

That’s not President Cyril Ramaphosa’s style. He plays the long game;