EDITORIAL: Mkhwebane and her splendid, unself-conscious ignorance
One would like to assume no-one could be so clueless, but this would raise the question as to Mkhwebane’s real motives
A few years ago, President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet issued a strong statement in which it described the SA Reserve Bank as "a crucial national institution" and pledged that "government would continue to ensure this independence was not compromised". This week, public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane made a mockery of that pledge when she ordered parliament to alter the Bank’s constitutional mandate, to strip it of its primary function — to keep inflation low and stable. In its place, Mkhwebane wants the Bank "to promote balanced and sustainable economic growth" while protecting the socioeconomic wellbeing of South Africans. The Bank should also consult parliament regularly "to achieve meaningful socioeconomic transformation". The result: an entirely foreseeable 20c fall in the rand, and angst from those few investors who weren’t sitting in a dark room rocking slowly after last week’s mining charter debacle. Thankfully, governor Lesetja Kganyago reacted promptly, vowing to launch an urgent r...
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