Duncan Pieterse, a young economist who has been central in the crafting of the National Treasury’s R254bn Eskom debt relief, has emerged as the frontrunner for the position of director-general.
Business Times understands that Pieterse, who is chief of the Treasury's assets & liabilities division, could get the nod to take over from Dondo Mogajane, who left last year. Ismail Momoniat has been holding the reins in the interim.
Pieterse’s appointment will be formalised if and when it is approved by the cabinet.
Asked on Friday about the succession, finance minister Enoch Godongwana would only say: “The interview process has concluded, and we will make a submission to the cabinet for it to decide.”
Another shortlisted candidate is the head of public finance at the Treasury, Mampho Modise, 39. Modise, who has a PhD in economics, joined the Treasury from the South African Reserve Bank in 2009 as a senior economist. She was appointed deputy DG responsible for the public sector in 2017.
Both she and Pieterse are highly regarded internally and in the markets and there is not much to choose between them, sources said. But one source said Pieterse’s experience in the asset & liabilities unit gave him the edge.
Pieterse, 44, from Kuils River, Cape Town, was most recently responsible for economic policy.
He holds a PhD, an MBA and an economics junior degree from the University of Cape Town. He recently completed a mid-career master’s programme at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
Profiled by the Sunday Times in 2021, Pieterse at the time dismissed the idea that the Treasury’s top tier was dominated by a youthful team.
“Our team is young by the standards of government, but not by those of the private sector. Michael Jordaan was 36 when he became CEO of FNB,” he said.
“I think one needs a combination of the old guard, like Momo [Momoniat] and Dondo, who have been there for a long time, as well as some of the younger guys, and our team is quite well balanced at the moment and it’s well positioned for the next few years.”
Pieterse was previously deputy DG of economic policy, leading a team of 30 economists across three units whose work included modelling and forecasting key aggregates such as GDP, inflation, interest rates and private investment. The Treasury uses the data to inform the fiscal framework and predict the impact of economic recovery plans.
South Africa has dilly-dallied on necessary reforms and the logistics crisis is getting worse. Whoever gets it, it will be a tough political environment leading up to the elections
— Economist Thabi Leoka
Another source said Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, deputy DG responsible for tax and financial sector policy, was a third candidate to watch.
Lekhethe manages South Africa’s participation in international forums such as the G20, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Financial Stability Board.
She has more than 20 years’ experience in global financial markets, development finance, regional and economic policy and corporate governance. She was previously an executive director of the African Development Bank.
Economist Thabi Leoka described the role of Treasury DG as a “very high-profile job, especially considering the calibre of people who were there before”.
The DG has to navigate various political complexities and withstand pressure from several ministries, she said.
“Technically the DG is the CEO and the minister the chairman of the National Treasury. The DG has to communicate with international and domestic investors on all things financial. The market watches the DG’s credibility to see if they can deliver on what they promise and also withstand political pressure.”
Whoever took the reins now was walking into a tough job in a constrained environment with a lot of competition for scarce resources,” Leoka said.
“South Africa has dilly-dallied on necessary reforms and the logistics crisis is getting worse. Whoever gets it, it will be a tough political environment leading up to the elections.”
The post of DG has been a launch pad to greater heights for previous incumbents. Maria Ramos went on to head Transnet before moving to Absa as group CEO and Lungisa Fuzile was appointed CEO of Standard Bank South Africa after stepping down from the Treasury in May 2017.
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