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Nhlanhla Musa Nene (ntɬantɬa, born 5 December 1958) is a politician who served as the Minister of Finance under President Jacob Zuma from 25 May 2014 until his controversial removal on 9 December 2015, and under President Cyril Ramaphosa from 27 February 2018 until his resignation on 9 October 2018. He also previously served as the Deputy Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of South Africa from November 2008 to May 2014, as chairperson of the Finance Portfolio Committee in the South African Parliament, and as a Member of Parliament for the African National Congress (ANC) starting in 1999. His home is in Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal.
He worked as a Regional Administrative Manager for Metropolitan Life Insurance for 15 years. He became a labour union shop steward and led a negotiating team for better working conditions during the period 1990 to 1995 and he organised the first ever strike in the financial sector, under the banner of SACAWU, while working at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1990.
He served as regional secretary of ANC Ukhahlamba region from 1997 until 2000 and as a chairperson of Kranskop Policing Forum from 1997 to 1999. He became ANC Local Government councillor and caucus chairperson from 1996 until 1999 and chairperson of Ntunjambili Development Forum from 1994 until 1999.
He became a Member of Parliament in 1999, and as an MP was a co-chairperson of Joint Budget Committee from October 2002 to August 2005 and a chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Finance from 2005 until 2008.
Nene held the Chair of the Joint Budget Committee and is currently a member of the ANC Regional Executive Committee for the Bambatha region. Previously he has held the position of ANC Secretary for the Bambatha region. As chairman of the portfolio finance committee, he has said that it is "not proper" for parliament to be involved in process of drafting the budget, adding "Parliament has an oversight responsibility with regard to the budget so our depends on how well we use the parliamentary process."Prakash Naidoo. " Budget Process: Do we have enough say?". Financial Mail. 23 February 2007. In 2008 when Parliament passed legislation that would give them more control over budgeting, Nene expressed concern, stressing that "utmost care should be taken that parliament does not undermine macroeconomic stability."" SA Parliament to get more budget change power". Reuters. 24 October 2008.
Earlier, he had been mentioned as a possible successor to Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in a possible Jacob Zuma-led ANC administration in 2009.Donwald Pressly. " Songs and pratfalls demonstrate fickleness of rand." Business Report. 27 October 2008. In November 2008 President Kgalema Motlanthe appointed Nene as South Africa's Deputy Minister of Finance. Nene replaced Jabu Moleketi, who resigned after the recall of president Thabo Mbeki. Nene was appointed the new Minister of Finance on 25 May 2014. Nene status as to whether he is either the first or the second black Minister of Finance of South Africa is disputed.
Nene was hailed by financial analysts as a good finance minister who criticized several government spending plans, including a plan to build several nuclear plants.
Nene was replaced by ANC back-bencher David van Rooyen. Markets reacted extremely negatively to Nene's replacement by Van Rooyen, and South African Rand dropped as much as 5.4 percent against the dollar in a single day. Rand plunges after Nene's shock exit, IOL, retrieved 12 December 2015 The FTSE/JSE financial 15 index fell 13.36%‚ the FTSE/JSE banks index dropped 18.54% and the FTSE/JSE all-share index shed 2.94%. The market capitalisation of the whole JSE went down by 1.49% to R11.18 trillion‚ a loss of R169.6-billion. The benchmark government bond‚ the R186‚ which was trading on a yield of 8.66% at the beginning of the week‚ ended the week at 10.40%. Within days, van Rooyen was removed as Finance Minister and replaced by Pravin Gordhan.
The Presidency announced that Nene had been nominated to lead the African Regional Center of the New Development Bank/BRICS Bank in Johannesburg. Nene however indicated in the Financial Mail that he had not received official confirmation of this nomination, and the nomination did not materialise.
In a Sunday newspaper Nene said he had acted "in the best interest" of the country when he took on President Jacob Zuma's close ally, SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni.
Nene initially returned to Parliament, but resigned as an MP later that month.
The incident led to an apology from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) after the clip was leaked onto the internet. SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago called the event "unforeseeable and an accident," adding that "Mr. Nene must be applauded for being a true professional. He carried on with the interview after a short ad break." The video was viewed 498,000 times on 27 October 2008Sally Evans. "Nene's TV chair joke falls flat". The Times. 28 October 2008. and was shared on viral video websites and . "World cracks up over SA chairperson". Dispatch Online. 24 October 2008.
Though Nene has said that the incident would not be good for his public image he later joked about it, stating that he had asked colleagues not to refer to his job title of Chair of the Committee whilst in his company. "Video: South African MP's chair collapses in interview". TimesOnline. 23 October 2008. One colleague quipped that perhaps Nene should give up his chairmanship of the portfolio finance committee to lead a standing committee instead. Nene's office was swamped by media requests, and Nene stated he no longer wished to talk about the matter. He denied that his weight was responsible for the chair's failure, saying "I know I am heavy but I sit on these chairs all the time. It can't be my weight." "Being butt of jokes after fall now a weighty matter for Nene". The Herald Online. Accessed 30 October 2008. He indicated that his children have been teased about the incident at school by classmates, and he reportedly sought legal advice concerning his rights and options regarding the way the video was leaked.
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Categories: 1958 Births, Living People, People From Umvoti Local Municipality, Zulu People, African National Congress Politicians, Ministers Of Finance Of South Africa, University Of The Western Cape Alumni, Members Of The National Assembly Of South Africa 1999–2004, Members Of The National Assembly Of South Africa 2004–2009, Members Of The National Assembly Of South Africa 2009–2014, Members Of The National Assembly Of South Africa 2014–2019
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