Mboweni: ANC adopted wrong policy on SARB independence
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni believes the African National Congress (ANC) made a mistake when it adopted a resolution on the independence of the South African Reserve Bank.
Mboweni had Twitter in a twist on Tuesday evening after he called for a debate on the resolution, which states that the central bank must be nationalised.
The resolution was adopted at the governing party’s national conference in 2017.
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Mboweni says 90% of the central bank’s profits are paid over the National Revenue Fund and thus he doesn't understand the hype around who the central bank belongs to.
He then opened himself up for scrutiny with a tweet: "Burn me at the stake."
As a long standing member of the ANC and its leadership structures, I know and understand our resolutions.I don’t need lectures on that.But on the SARB, I am convinced that we adopted a wrong resolution. What do we want to achieve?Our Strategic focus:Structural Economic Reforms.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020
As of now, 90% of the SARB profits are handed over to the National Revenue Fund. So? What do we want to achieve? Tell the public. Lets debate. Dont say internal debates, this is a fundamental National debate.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020
Burn me at the stake then.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020
Answer the question. What do you want to achieve by nationalizing the SARB. Don’t tell me about internal debates, NEC, etc. what do you want to achieve? Lets answer that fundamental question.
— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020
The bank’s mandate is set to be a burning point at the ANC’s national general council later this year.
The gathering will measure the progress made on the party’s resolutions adopted at its national conference in 2017.
ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule caused a stir last year after he vowed that the governing party will amend the Reserve Bank's mandate to ensure it does more to foster economic growth and create jobs.