#GPBudget2020: MEC for Finance Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko Drinks To Health In Tough Economic Times

Thalia Holmes

Gauteng province’s Finance MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko delivered something akin to a chastisement of the “black elite” in her maiden budget speech on Thursday.

Quoting the erudite policy czar Joel Netshitenzhe, the province’s first black female finance MEC said: “Most black professionals nowadays belong, at once, in the binary settings of opulence and wretchedness. To ensure the gold at the end of the rainbow does not turn into mirage, professionals need to relate their narrow interests to the broader aspirations of society.”

In pursuit of a new society, said Nkomo-Ralehoko, the ultimate ambition of black professionals cannot be to mimic white elite lifestyles.

Otherwise, she said, quoting the ANC stalwart, “empowerment will merely complement white entitlement to historical privilege.”

The essence of her message was that in creating a new future, South Africans must harness a new way of enjoying success; one that creates a tide of prosperity for