Reserve Bank not well placed to address ‘terrible unemployment’
Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says unemployment is due to structural factors ‘not the kind of cyclical factors addressed by changes in interest rates’
South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago says one of the main contributing factors to the country’s high unemployment rate is that many people do not live close enough to job opportunities. And the bad news is that the central bank is not well placed to solve the country’s "terrible unemployment problem". Kganyago was speaking on Tuesday night at a lecture on monetary policy at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Westville campus‚ where he also addressed whether the Reserve Bank should aim to reduce the unemployment rate‚ currently at 26.5%. He said one of the tactics was to keep inflation down‚ but it was difficult for the Reserve Bank to specifically target unemployment: "SA has a terrible unemployment problem which has lasted for at least two decades. It therefore makes sense that we should be looking for creative solutions to the problem. However‚ the central bank is not well placed to solve this with monetary policy." He said the first reason is that almost all of SA’...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.