From an urban critic to an ancient one: Tito Mboweni kicks off budget speech with a twist
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni kicked off his debut medium-term budget speech with a quote from Charles Dickens' A Tale of to Cities and seconds later Twitter was on it.
Last year Malusi Gigaba quoted "urban poet" Kendrick Lamar's song Alright but Mboweni opted for something a little more old-school.
``It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was also the age of foolishness. We were all going to heaven. We were all going the other way," said Mboweni as he quoted the famous lines.
Charles Dickens immediately started trending as Twitter deciphered what he was trying to say.
Jarre when a whole new Finance Minister quotes Charles Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities you somma know who he wants to appease #MTBPS2018
— Nazier Paulsen (@NazierPaulsen) October 24, 2018
#TitoMboweni quoting Charles Dickens.
— Bulelani Phillip (@BulelaniPhillip) October 24, 2018
We've moved on from Kendrick Lamar. #MTBPS2018
Opening with Thabo Mbeki favourite poem by Charles Dickens "a tale of two cities"
— Xolile (@xolile_r) October 24, 2018
Leadership right there pic.twitter.com/tpogKTB7Oy
😂Charles Dickens is trending, 150 years later
— shaun smillie (@shsmillie) October 24, 2018
Listening to #TitoMboweni quote Charles Dickens, the Bible and post modernist intellectuals reminds me of Mbeki's speeches. We're back to the mid 2000's. #MTBPS2018
— Radebe (@litha_mayosi) October 24, 2018
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni kicked off his debut medium-term budget speech with a quote from Charles Dickens' A Tale of two Cities. Here are some of the highlights from his speech on October 24 2018.