The South African Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene who made a dramatic return to his former position as head of National Treasury in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new Cabinet has spoken on a array of issues.

Nene was first appointed finance minister at the beginning of President Jacob Zuma’s second term in May 2014, replacing a largely successful five years served by predecessor Pravin Gordhan.

Nene was infamously removed by Zuma in December 2015, just 19 months into the job, on the basis of a promise he would head up a new African regional centre of the Brics Development Bank.

His axing at the time – to make way for then little-known MP Des van Rooyen – caused a massive tumble in the rand, and came to be known as “Nenegate”.

Nene says he is coming back to fight poverty in South Africa. The minister of Finance says he will do this by forcing the reserve bank to print more money and give it to the poor, especially the unemployed. Billions if that is possible.

“South Africans continuing to be poor when we can print more money to ensure that everybody has it. Our people are poor because there is a shortage of money in the country. It’s not the shortage of jobs that makes people poor, it is the shortage of money. We have paper and ink, so we will print more money and give it to the poor, and make all of them billionaires if that is possible.” Nene said.

The minister did not say how much more money will need to be printed. But he did reveal that this plan will be executed in in the next two months or so, and that every South African will be rich.