GAVIN KEETON: Reserve Bank grab will not achieve critics’ aims

In recent weeks, there have been calls to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank and cancel its constitutional mandate to defend the value of the currency and promote growth. Such calls seem motivated by the belief that this will lead to lower interest rates. In fact, neither move would change the way interest rates are currently set. But they could severely damage the credibility of the Reserve Bank itself and the way it conducts monetary policy.