Mboweni claim not supported by data December 27, 2020 in Local In April 2020 South African finance minister Tito Mboweni made a startling claim about the number of foreigners working in South Africa’s restaurant industry. When he returned from exile in 1990, he said, eight in 10 restaurant workers were South African. “The other two were probably Malawian or Zimbabwean. Today almost 100% are non-South African.” The claim resurfaced in October 2020 when the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa’s second-largest opposition party, called on businesses to ensure that at least 60% of their staff were South African citizens. Is there any evidence for Mboweni’s claim? We took a closer look.