Protector pushes for change in Bank’s role
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane recommends the Reserve Bank’s constitutional mandate be changed to protecting 'citizens’ socioeconomic wellbeing'
In an astounding move, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane on Monday recommended that the Reserve Bank’s constitutional mandate be changed from protecting the value of the rand to a focus on the protection of "citizens’ socioeconomic wellbeing". The announcement sent the rand into a tailspin, with the local currency quickly weakening more than 2% against the dollar. Tampering with the mandate of the central bank is viewed extremely negatively by investors and credit ratings agencies, and as a threat to investment security. The recommendation is contained in Mkhwebane’s report into the government’s failure to recover apartheid-era funds extended to Bankorp, which was bought by Absa in 1992.Mkhwebane found that the government and the Bank had not protected the public interest in bailing out Bankorp between 1985 and 1991, and has referred the matter to the Special Investigating Unit to recover funds from Absa of R1.125bn. Mkhwebane also instructed Parliament’s justice and correctional ...
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