Reserve Bank will defend its mandate and independence, says governor
Political debates around the Reserve Bank are fast being exposed as factional fights within the ANC rather than anything to do with the economy
The Reserve Bank will protect its mandate and independence as enshrined in the constitution should legislative processes on its nationalisation come to fruition. This is according to Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, who was speaking after the first monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting of 2019, in which the bank kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.75%.
The political debates around the Reserve Bank are quickly being exposed as red herrings, more reflective of the factional fights within the ANC than a desire to harness the role of the bank in the economy. The ANC, in its election manifesto, says that job creation and economic growth should be factors in setting monetary policy. Kganyago said the bank already does this. “Our mandate is to protect the value of the currency in the interests of balanced and sustainable growth ... anyone who says the Bank must focus on growth has not read the constitution, because we cannot have balanced and sustainable growth if you are runn...
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