Mboweni defends his ‘homeboy’ Malema

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni recently spoke out against Jacques Pauw’s sharing of the Johannesburg address where EFF leader Julius Malema’s wife and children live.

I find the violation of my homeboy’s @Julius_S_Malema family privacy distasteful, abhorrent, unjournalistic, backward and deserving the full condemnation by SANEF and all democrats.

— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) December 4, 2018

Mboweni called the “violation” of his “homeboy’s” family privacy “distasteful, abhorrent, unjournalistic, backward, and deserving the full condemnation by SANEF and all democrats”.

Thank you Governor, the kids are safe.

— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) December 4, 2018

Malema thanked him for the tweet and indicated that his children were safe.

Pauw deleted a tweet which showed a picture of the house on Google Earth as well the printed address after the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) urged him to do so.

READ MORE: Jacques Pauw deletes tweet revealing Malema’s family’s address

While many slammed the investigative journalist and The President’s Keepers author for sharing the Malemas’ family address, he took to Twitter to say that he felt it was “justified” as the residence was in a “guarded complex” with “state-of-the-art security”.

He also noted the backlash after he published another tweet showing Malema and his son with alleged tobacco smuggler Adriano Mazzotti, saying he didn’t see a problem posting the photo as it was “already in the public domain”.

SANEF asked me to delete the tweet with the address of Julius Malema’s house in Mazzotti’s complex. I thought it was justified to post his address as it is a guarded complex with state-of-the-art security. SANEF says it was wrong to do so. I accept that and deleted the tweet.

— Jacques Pauw (@Jaqqs) December 3, 2018

The EFF has also lashed at me for posting a picture last week of Malema posing with Mazzotti and his business partners. Malema’s child sits on his lap. That picture was posted some time ago on Facebook by one of the people that was there. It was already in the public domain.

— Jacques Pauw (@Jaqqs) December 3, 2018

Mboweni has shared photos of himself with EFF spokesperson Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, and some have suggested that his appointment as finance minister may have left EFF leaders smiling behind the scenes.

Back in April, the minister expressed ideas on economic policy that some pointed out bore more than a passing resemblance to the radical left-wing party’s ideas.

READ MORE: Tito Mboweni amazed that he’s taller than Ndlozi

The Citizen reported in September that the EFF and Mboweni have been surprisingly friendly with each other recently, with Mboweni trending in April for the series of tweets, which called for the greater socialisation of capital.

Mboweni typed up a short prayer asking for leaders to open their eyes and ears and “do four things”.

“The state must own 40% of mining companies, start a state bank, implement appropriate land use planning, and create a sovereign wealth fund. That is radical economic transformation!!”

READ MORE: What changed Mboweni’s mind?

The EFF also wants to create a state bank and nationalise all mining, as well as all land.

Mboweni explained that, in his opinion, appropriate land use planning would involve demarcating land clearly for: “housing, agriculture, grazing, forestry, tourism, leisure, schooling, hospitals, etc. Now, before people do their own will.”

He added the most urgent task in this respect would be to: “allocate land immediately for residential purposes. Urgent. Really URGENT!!”

This policy echoed the EFF call for all state land to be state-owned or controlled.

Many of the responses he received to his tweets accused him of thinking like the EFF or even being part of them. Others praised him for the exact same thing.

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