News24
12 Jun 2019, 23:43 GMT+10
Nedbank CEO Mike Brown has warned that changing the mandate of the Reserve Bank won't provide a solution to the problems facing the country, urging government to rather focus on implementing growth stimulating policies.
"Leave the Reserve Bank alone," said Brown.
Last week, ANC Senior Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, stirred debate around the status of the central bank when he announced that the party's NEC lekgotla had resolved to expand the bank's mandate to include growth and employment. Magashule's statement prompted conflicting statements over the issue from ANC and government officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa.
"Anybody doing any sensible diagnostic on South Africa would know that the Reserve Bank and the Monetary Policy are certainly not the cause of the challenges facing our economy, and certainly not the solution to the challenges facing our economy," said Brown.
In his address at the annual Nedgroup Investments Treasurer's Conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Brown warned, "Don't fiddle with something that is not broken."
He stated that the mandate of the Reserve Bank already included maintaining price stability in the interests of balanced and sustainable economic growth.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and the ANC head of economic transformation Enoch Godongwana came out against Magashule's statement, describing it as not an accurate account of the party's deliberations or decisions. Ramaphosa came out with the assurance that the mandate of the Reserve Bank "has not changed".
Land expropriation and economy
Brown also added that the country is in desperate need of investment, and that the expropriation without compensation debate was "taking too long".
Nedbank was one of the banks that made a presentation to Parliament on the policy's likely impact on the economy. He argued government should not make Section 25 of the Constitution a scapegoat for poor delivery on land reform.
He urged the government to focus on what he called "low-hanging fruit" as part of growth formula. These include easing travel regulations and improving co-ordination between government departments.
Brown also added his views on the Mining Charter, which he described as a great improvement on previous documents.
"What we should be asking is [whether] the new Mining Charter is likely to encourage a disproportionate share of mining investment coming into South Africa, and as consequence grow jobs, or is the Mining Charter more likely to maintain the status quo?"
The Minerals Council South Africa is challenging the Mining Charter on the basis that the revised document, which was adopted in September 2018, is in breach of an earlier court order, which ruled that previous versions of the regulations didn't require miners to top up black shareholding levels if they had previously met a minimum 26% requirement.
Get a daily dose of China National News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to China National News.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...
HONG KONG: China has fired back at the European Union in an escalating trade dispute by imposing new restrictions on medical device...
FUZHOU, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival, with the theme of Singing for Peace, kicked off...
(250711) -- KUALA LUMPUR, July 11, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the...
(Photo credit: Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Journeyman Chan Kim fired a career-low, 9-under-par...
New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar urged Indian businesses to expand globally, not only in markets but...
Representatives of women's organizations and networks that were part of the first delegation of gender experts at the talks in Havana...