SA spends too much time on populism, says Lesetja Kganyago
The Reserve Bank governor says ‘the amount of time squandered discussing Reserve Bank nationalisation’ is of particular concern
SA spends too much time debating populist issues such as the proposed nationalisation of the central bank, instead of focusing on steps to boost the economy, South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Monday. “We have spent too much of the year indulging in populism instead of making pragmatic choices,” Kganyago said in in the foreword to the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy review in Pretoria. “A particular concern for me has been the amount of time we have squandered discussing Reserve Bank nationalisation.” The ANC decided in December that it would pursue changes to the constitution to make land expropriation without compensation easier and that the Reserve Bank should be state-owned. In August, the EFF tabled a bill to change the ownership of the Reserve Bank. “No one can explain what SA [would] gain from this step, or why it would justify the potential costs” of nationalising the central bank, Kganyago said. “Clearly this subject excites some passion, so we keep...
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