Nationalising Reserve Bank pointless, says Thabo Mbeki
Former president says the move would change nothing as it is government that drives policies
Former president Thabo Mbeki weighed in on the debate about the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank, saying such a move would be pointless. The comments from the former leader, who the ANC forced out of office in 2008, are at odds with some in the governing party, including current leader Cyril Ramaphosa, who told parliament in March that doing away with the Bank’s private shareholders would give the country “sovereignty”. But the intervention is likely to be welcomed by Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, who has previously warned that election-driven “crazy ideas” about the Bank’s ownership and mandate would harm investor confidence, while buying out its shareholders would divert resources from key developmental needs. “I really to this day do not know what anyone would gain by the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank, except to say” they had done it, Mbeki said during a visit to the ANC pavilion at the Rand Easter Show to pledge his support for the ANC ahead of the May 8 elections. “N...
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