Focus on SA affairs, Mboweni told after weighing in on US vice-president-elect Kamala Harris

Finance minister Tito Mboweni says the election of Kamala Harris as US vice-president “feels really good” and “uplifts the spirit in these horrible Covid-19 times”.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the minister said Harris' blackness made her election special.

“American elections: it feels good that an African-American woman will be vice-president. Feels really good. Just feels good to witness this. Uplifts the spirit in these horrible Covid-19 times,” he tweeted on Wednesday.

While some shared his sentiment, many were not here for Mboweni's analysis of US affairs and said he should focus on local politics.

Others debated Harris' “Africanness” — a debate that has been ongoing ever since she ran for the presidency alongside president-elect Joe Biden.

According to NBC News, Harris was born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother who both immigrated to the US. This means that she is Asian and black.

Some Twitter users said Harris' election and identity means little if she won't make a difference in the lives of people of colour. They asked the minister to focus on his own portfolio and local affairs, but others agreed with the minister.

Here are some of the reactions: