African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Gwede Mantashe has told Eyewitness News that the Public Protector has overreached her power by pronouncing that she wants to change the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy.
On Monday, Advocate Busiswe Mkhwebane said the Reserve Bank had failed in its duties to protect the public by not ensuring that Absa Bank repaid an apartheid-era bailout given to failed bank Bankorp.
The matter relates to funds misappropriated during the apartheid era given as a lifeboat to Bankorp which was later purchased by Absa Bank.
Mantashe says the Reserve Bank was right to take the Public Protector’s decision on review.
“On the powers of the Reserve Bank and the Constitution, I think that’s Public Protector overreach. The Reserve Bank is right in reviewing it because that’s the only way you can challenge this, you can review properly.”
Mantashe says the Reserve Bank’s credibility is still intact and should not be tampered with.
“The Reserve Bank is doing its work. The mistake we can commit in South Africa, which is popular, is to play around with the institution that gives us credibility and we lose that credibility immediately, we’ll battle economically.”
