Age: Born in 1959 when it was still fashionable to name your children after Eastern Bloc communist leaders.
Has this been a liability? Only after he returned from exile in 1990, when even computers were anti-communist and spell checks would advise his name be changed to “Tits” or “Veto”.
Present occupation: Minister with a Mission — to use the new Labour Relations Bill to coax government, business and the union movement into a sweet menage a
How’s it going? Consensus after one year in government was that he was one of the talented ministers. He also earned three A’s for Arrogance, Ambition and Adaptability, the last quality making it possible for him to overcome initial skepticism that a maverick development economist was the wrong man for the job to persuade both business and the union movement he was on their side.
Career highlight: As an ANC economist he conceived the idea of a wealth tax, an inspired move which has allowed whites to buy their way out of 45 years of crippling guilt. Instead of creeping remorse, come pay day, if voters can’t remember at least one thing about the new government that outraged them, they don’t feel they’ve had their money’s worth.
Career low: During the Pick ‘n Pay strike last year he popped over to see if he could help, and found that people don’t automatically love each other just because you say they should.
Was it a learning curve? He still believes you can legislate for people to get on. But stubborn bosses are going to keep on rocking up at the new suggested workplace forums with notions of profit and productivity, and stubborn workers are going to insist on noticing they’re going home on a bus instead of in the BMW.
What now? His attempt to broker a deal between labour and business could be an eternal triangle which disintegrates into a fractious divorce of the ANC and the union movement.
So are we in for a rocky ride? Look, if you’re one of the three people left in the country who hasn’t learnt to toyi-toyi, you’ll get your chance in the next few
Is anyone happy? Sure, the labour lawyers who would be out of work if Mboweni’s co-operative dream came true. For this year, at least, they won’t have to scratch Chardonnay off the essential grocery list.