Barefoot shareholder confronts Mboweni at AGM

A BAREFOOT shareholder confronted the governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Tito Mboweni at the Bank’s 89th Annual General Meeting on Thursday.

German national Michael Duerr, barefoot and clad in lederhosen and a traditional Bavarian shirt, confronted Mboweni as soon as the AGM got underway.Duerr said the minutes of the previous AGM should not be approved.’There are things left out,’ he said.He then had a disagreement with Mboweni on how voting should be conducted at the meeting.Duerr also insisted there were discrepancies in the SARB’s financial accounts.’I want to know what the hell is going on. The AGM is for shareholders. There should be discussions,’ Duerr said.Mboweni told the shareholder he was out of order.’Be honourable. We had this last year too,’ Mboweni said.’Shutting up is much more dignified,’ the governor added.During a brief adjournment, Duerr told Sapa he had dressed in his national costume ‘in case Mboweni came dressed in his own national costume’.He said he had removed his shoes as a sign of disrespect.Asked if he thought there was something sinister about the bank’s financial accounts, Duerr said: ‘No, I think it’s just stupidity.’The meeting was reconvened and after numerous items were voted upon, Nedbank CEO Tom Boardman, in his capacity as chairman of the Banking Association, proposed a vote of thanks to Mboweni.At a media conference following the AGM, Mboweni said Duerr’s attire had been ‘a sign of the highest disrespect by a German national to the citizens of South Africa’.-Nampa-Sapa