Tito Mboweni, South Africa’s combative finance minister, has upset Zambia again, this time over an alleged disparaging tweet.

The tweet said that nothing much was happening in Zambia, insinuating that the country’s economy was not doing well.

“The government has noticed a very worrying trend by Mr Mboweni, of ignoring diplomatic etiquette and embarking on bad mouthing a sovereign state,” a statement by Zambia’s Information Minister Dora Siliya said.

Last year South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa publicly admonished Mr Mboweni after he criticised Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu for sacking the Central Bank Governor.

Ms Siliya said she hoped Mr Ramaphosa will censure the minister again.

The offending tweet has since been deleted but Mr Mboweni’s tweeted on Tuesday about being “persecuted” for a “scientific truth”