Reserve Bank trends as Mboweni opposes its nationalisation
Finance minister Tito Mboweni's response to the ruling party's resolution to nationalise the SA Reserve Bank has seen scores of people flock to Twitter as the public attempts to make sense of it all.
Mboweni was again responding to the ANC's Nasrec policy conference resolution of 2017, and maintained that the idea to nationalise the bank was a mistake.
In a series of tweets, Mboweni questioned what the ANC sought to achieve by nationalising the bank, and called for the matter to be debated publicly as opposed to internally, by the party's National Executive Committee.
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
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
The senior leadership of the ANC has long been divided on the Reserve Bank matter.
Last year, Ace Magashule told journalists that the ANC had resolved to expand the bank's mandate, saying it would help ease the country's poverty and unemployment. Enoch Godongwana rejected this, saying no decision had been made.
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Mboweni excluded himself from the decision-making process and said the government had to come up with a SARB mandate.
This is what tweeps had to say in response to Mboweni's questions:
Thank you sir, you have balls to point out that SARB's resolution is wrong.... Bravo 🙏🏽 https://t.co/e302iqyoHL
— The Thinker🤔 (@TheThin41314045) January 14, 2020
Personally I think it's better that SARB is left as an independent entity. Nationalizing SARB will mean interference from the government and it will be like other state owned entities
— Siyamamkela Msomi (@SiyamamkelaMso2) January 14, 2020
Ask them Tito. Ask these socialists what they want to achieve because there is nothing that can be achieved by nationalizing the SARB. Nothing. They simple love nationalizing for no particular reason. https://t.co/RkGdqQmygT
— Errol (@errolbsk) January 14, 2020
How has the SARB in its current form, with you being one of the shareholders performed?
— MsT #ProBlack (@thembi_kola) January 14, 2020
The economy will never grow so long as you and handlers overlook the importance of SMMEs in growing the economy.
An economy run by a minority and their puppets will never serve the masses.
The South African Reserve Bank will be nationalized and the Sky will not fall,
— Lukhanyo Vangqa (@LukhanyoV) January 14, 2020
there will be challenges, which will be grossly over inflated by detractors, however remember that change naturally comes with challenges, SARB will be a great economic tool in the hands of the people.
What Minister Tito Mboweni has exposed with his question is that majority of South Africans don’t know what nationalizing the SARB means and its implications. Sadly enough the people that adopted this resolution don’t know either. 😢 pic.twitter.com/aRSJpjBqXd
— MOSS™🇿🇦🏳️🌈 (@_officialMoss) January 14, 2020
Is there anything wrong with the way the SARB is currently run? If so, why did Moody's state that one of the reasons it did not downgrade SA was bcos of the independence of the SARB. Do u realize the impact of nationalizing the SARB with all the SOEs underperfoming?
— Sėgõpî (@iamSegopi) January 14, 2020
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