Debating the mandate of the reserve bank

Abstract

Questioning the role of the Reserve Bank is not a new issue in South Africa’s political and economic discussions on what would end the triple scourge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. The issue was raised in the early period of our transition to formal democracy. That it should surface again, via the Public Protector’s pronouncements, is but a signal of how vital the debate is to economic transformation. The author challenges the orthodoxy of those who advocate a single mandate and presents what an alternative approach would mean without threatening the “independence” of the institution.