Lesetja Kganyago rebuffs public protector report in court
Ratings agencies are clear that the independence of the Reserve Bank and its policy framework is one of the strongest pillars supporting SA’s economy, he says
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s recommendation to amend the Reserve Bank’s constitutional mandate had nothing to do with her investigation into the apartheid-era Bankorp “lifeboat”, and was only aimed at stripping the Bank of its powers to maintain price stability, the Bank said on Tuesday. Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago applied to the High Court in Pretoria to review and set aside sections of Mkhwebane’s report on the lifeline granted to Bankorp, which Absa subsequently acquired. Kganyago argued she had no power to amend the Constitution; had gone beyond the ambit of her investigation; was encroaching on the legislative functions of Parliament; and irrationally expected the Bank to take on the responsibility for socioeconomic development. The process she followed was also procedurally unfair, Kganyago said. “The public protector’s remedial action is constrained by the conduct she investigates. She has no power to take remedial action on matters she has not investigated,” he s...
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