Reserve Bank of South Africa

South Africa Central Bank Says Graft Ombudsman Met Zuma Lawyers

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The country’s graft ombudsman used a probe into an apartheid-era bailout of a lender to attack the South African Reserve Bank and didn’t disclose a meeting with lawyers in President Jacob Zuma’s office to discuss the investigation before its findings were released, the central bank said. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane instructed lawmakers in a June 19 report to amend the constitution to make the bank focus on the “socioeconomic well-being of the citizens”…

South Africa Court Scraps Bid to Alter Central Bank Role

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s High Court scrapped a bid by the nation’s anti-graft ombudsman to change the central bank’s inflation-targeting mandate. The Public Protector’s instruction that lawmakers should start a process to change the constitution and amend the Reserve Bank’s mandate is set aside, Judge Cynthia Pretorius said in a ruling. The judgment removes the risk of politicians interfering in the functioning of the central bank and may ease concerns about…

South Africa Cuts Key Rate for the First Time in Five Years

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank cut borrowing costs for the first time in five years as inflation eases and after the country slipped into a recession. The Monetary Policy Committee reduced its key rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 per cent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria, citing concern about the nation’s growth outlook. Only three of 23 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted a reduction. The cut is the…

South Africa Graft Ombudsman Won’t Fight Central Bank Court Bid

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s anti-graft ombudsman won’t oppose the Reserve Bank’s court application to review and set aside her instruction to parliament to change the constitution and amend the central bank’s primary role. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane considered legal advice and decided not to oppose the application the central bank filed on June 28, her office said in an emailed statement on Monday. In a report last month, Mkhwebane instructed the legislature to start…

South Africa Central Bank Says Ombudsman’s Actions Risk Economy

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank filed court papers to reverse an instruction by the anti-graft ombudsman that its mandate of protecting the value of currency be changed, saying the “reckless” proposal is harming the economy. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in a report earlier this month instructed parliament to start a process to change the nation’s constitution to make the central bank focus on the “socioeconomic well-being of the citizens” rather than inflation….

South Africa Must Have Inflation-Target Talk, Buthelezi Says

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JOHANNESBURGH (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa should have talks on the appropriateness of the central bank’s inflation target, Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi said, adding to concern that the institution’s mandate may be altered. “We set this 3 percent to 6 percent then, under different economic conditions,” Buthelezi said at a conference Monday in Johannesburg. “Is it still relevant now? Is it a policy for all seasons?” Buthelezi’s remarks come a week after Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane recommended…

South Africa Central Bank to Fight `Unlawful’ Mandate Proposal

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank accused the graft ombudsman of overreaching her powers and promised to fight a proposal to change the institution’s primary objective of protecting the value of the currency. “The Reserve Bank has consulted its legal team and has been advised that the remedial action prescribed by the Public Protector falls outside her powers and is unlawful,” the Pretoria-based central bank said in a statement on its website. Public…

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