Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has welcomed Cabinet’s approval of the promotion of Dr Duncan Pieterse as the new head of the National Treasury, saying that he has the necessary chutzpah to succeed in his new role.
The government yesterday announced that Cabinet has approved the appointment of Pieterse as Treasury’s director-general for a period of five years, beginning on September 1.
Pieterse takes over the reins at the time when Treasury is working on a solution, together with the Prudential Authority and other regulators and law enforcement agencies to address the remaining gaps in South Africa’s oversight of money laundering, the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing over the next 18 months.
In February, South Africa was greylisted by global financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for not fully complying with international standards around the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
Pieterse is currently the deputy director-general of asset and liability management at Treasury having joined the department in 2013 and has worked in various positions for the last 10 years.
He served as a deputy director-general of economic policy and was instrumental in the government’s plan announced in February to take on more than half of Eskom's debt over the next three years.
Godongwana yesterday met with top management and staff of Treasury to inform them of the appointment of Pieterse as director-general of the department.
“The director-general provides strategic leadership to the department, guides its organisational structure, and manages a team of experts who handle various aspects of financial management, economic analysis, and policy formulation,” Godongwana said.
“He or she is central to shaping the fiscal policies, economic direction, and financial stability of the country. I believe Duncan has more than enough experience, expertise, and chutzpah to make a success of this new challenge.”
Pieterse has a Bachelor of Business Science, Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University and a Doctor of Philosophy, amongst others.
Top management and staff welcomed his appointment as bringing certainty to the leadership of the Treasury after Dondo Mogajane left the post in June last year to pursue new opportunities outside of the public sector after 23 years with the Treasury.
After months of hibernation, Mogajane in February surfaced as the new CEO of the Moti Group, which is owned by controversial businessman Zunaid Moti.
After Mogajane left Treasury, Godongwana appointed another long-serving Treasury official Ismail Momoniat as acting director-general in July 2022, who has held the fort since then.
Momoniat yesterday also welcomed Pieterse’s appointment, especially the fact that the baton of leadership was now moving to a younger generation.
Godongwana thanked all those who had applied for the position and commended Momoniat for his leadership “as a true and dedicated servant of the department and the country”.
Momoniat further mentioned that he will continue to serve the department for at least a year to ensure a smooth transition and oversee several key projects that will strengthen the governance and anti-corruption system; modernising the procurement system, and overseeing the process to get the country out of greylisting.
In January 2025, FATF will review its decision to greylist South Africa and interrogate the public and private sector measures to address its concerns.
The country will need to demonstrate a practical, scalable plan to combat money laundering, fraud and other financial crimes.
Failing to achieve this will have serious economic knock-on effects, such as a significant decrease in international capital inflows and downgrading by credit rating agencies, all of which will negatively impact the rand.
An extended greylisting will also be a serious threat to State-owned enterprises that rely on offshore debt capital markets for funding.
Murray Collyer, the chief operating officer of iiDENTIFii, a digital identity solutions firm serving banks, insurance, retail, and ecommerce companies, said it was possible to reverse South Africa’s greylisting in 18 months.
Collyer said financial institutions needed to refine their focus on digital identity, the central factor in performing safe, verifiable, and authenticated transactions.
“We call on financial institutions and the government to embed infallible, enterprise-level and sophisticated biometric authentication into the country’s financial services infrastructure,” Collyer said.
“This should not just be a response to our greylisting, but a strategic imperative in an increasingly digitised economic climate where cybersecurity risks abound.
“If we can demonstrate an ability to combat threats at a global level, this could instil faith in reluctant overseas investors and local customers alike.”
BUSINESS REPORT