South Africans should be proud of its central bank as “an institution that has been unwavering in meeting its Constitutional mandate “has been exemplary,” President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the South African Reserve Bank on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said while the apex bank’s existence and work predated the dawn of democracy in 1994, the manner in which it has carried out its democratic constitutional mandate, an obligation to the South African people’s desire for liberty and prosperity, “has been exemplary.”
“The SARB has stood witness to some of the most dramatic events in our country from the great depression (of the 1930s) to World War II; from the election of the (white) Nationalist Party government in 1948 to the declaration of the republic, from the Sharpeville massacre (of protesting blacks) to the release of Nelson Mandela from prison — and to the historic 1994 elections,” Ramaphosa said.
He commended the central bank for not only applying monetary policy instruments “with diligence and care in times of global and regional crises”, but for also providing sound and valuable advice to government.
Ramaphosa also commended the central bank for its “quick, bold, extraordinary and unprecedented response to the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year.
During this period, the SARB slashed the repo rate by over 200 basis points in an attempt to soften the blow on consumers affected by the effects of the pandemic, he said.
NM/jn/APA