Politics is adding to hurdles facing Reserve Bank, says Lesetja Kganyago
The problem with SA’s discourse on the central bank is that it is based on rhetoric and populism, rather than looking at hard facts, Kganyago says
Politics is complicating efforts by the South African Reserve Bank to set monetary policy and keep inflation under control, according to Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago. "Our job is already difficult," Kganyago said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London. "What the politics does is that it just adds to the complexity." Uncertainty has prevailed for more than a year over who will replace President Jacob Zuma as leader of the ANC in December. The Bank has not been spared in the political infighting that accompanied the succession race, with the public protector instructing MPs in June to change the constitution to make the bank focus on the "socioeconomic wellbeing of the citizens", rather than inflation. The high court has set this order aside, after the Reserve Bank sought a review of her directive. "The problem with the South African discourse on the central bank is that it is based on rhetoric and it is based on populism, rather than looking at the hard facts," Kganyag...
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