Nkwe Platinum and South Africa Zijin Platinum, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of multinational mining company Zijin Mining Group, have appointed former South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni as nonexecutive director and deputy chairperson of South Africa Zijin Platinum, with effect from October 14. 

Mboweni was Finance Minister from 2018 to 2021, after holding positions of Labour Minister and South African Reserve Bank governor. 

He served as the African National Congress (ANC) Department of Economic Policy deputy head prior to being appointed as Labour Minister. Mboweni served as the chairperson of the National Executive Committee's Economic Transformation Committee, which oversaw the formulation of ANC economic policies. He was also a member of the National Executive and National Working Committees of the ANC. 

As South Africa Zijin Platinum deputy chairperson, Mboweni will provide guidance and expertise to management relating to the business plans, strategies and objectives of the company. 

In 2021, South Africa Zijin Platinum was appointed as Nkwe’s mining contractor in respect of the Zijin Garatau platinum mine in Limpopo.  

“We are very proud to have Mboweni join our dynamic team. We welcome his wealth of industry experience and strategic leadership skills to the company. We look forward to his contribution in leading the next developmental phase of our group,” South Africa Zijin Platinum MD and CEO Zhiyu Fan said. 

Mboweni obtained an honours equivalent Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Sciences from the National University of Lesotho in 1985. In 1987, he obtained a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the University of East Anglia in England. 

He served as honorary Professor of Economics at the University of South Africa and was appointed as Chancellor of the University of the North-West in February 2002, after being elected to that position. 

Mboweni was designated Professor Extraordinary in Economics by the University of Stellenbosch from April 2002 to March 2005. 

From 1994 to 1998, Mboweni served as Labour Minister in former President Nelson Mandela's administration. The post-Apartheid labour legislation in South Africa, which permitted collective bargaining and the creation of labour courts, was drafted at the time by Mboweni during his tenure.

In 1995, he was named as one of the Global Leaders of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. 

Mboweni was named head of the ANC's Policy Department in 1997, which oversaw the organisation's policy-making procedures. In 1999, he was appointed as South African Reserve Bank governor. 

In his capacity as governor, he oversaw the implementation of the inflation targeting policy to assist the bank in achieving price stability and dealt with the rand's decline as a result of regional and international developments.

Mboweni joined financial institution Goldman Sachs as an international adviser in June 2010, where he gave the company strategic recommendations on business expansion possibilities with a focus on South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.