South Africa's Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has defended and enhanced the Sarb’s reputation as an independent and well-governed institution against all threats - despite a turbulent political and economic backdrop. This has won him the world's Central Banking Governor of the Year 2018 Award.
"The Sarb acts as a beacon of competence and independence not just for South Africa‚ but for central banking in the African continent as a whole. And its current governor‚ Lesetja Kganyago‚ who took the helm in 2014‚ has enhanced the Sarb’s reputation as he has striven to make informed policy decisions‚ improve operations and build capacity‚ while standing firm against unwarranted political interference in his effort to serve the people of South Africa‚" the citation reads.
"Kganyago’s steady hand and passionate defence of the Sarb’s ability to carry out its mandate have proven to be particularly important during the past 12 months‚ when years of economic mismanagement by the government and intense political infighting ahead of leadership contest came to a head."
President Jacob Zuma congratulated Kganyago for winning the award. “We congratulate Governor Kganyago for this award. This international recognition is one of many acknowledgments affirming the good work done by the institution‚" the presidency said in a statement. Governor Kganyago was also recently appointed as the new chairperson of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC)‚ Zuma's office noted.
The Central Banking citation praised him for his skills and practicality - as well as his integrity.
“He has stood firmly in a very difficult political environment‚ including when President Zuma was hounding the minister of finance‚” it quoted a long-serving international central banking official as saying. “The Sarb is still viewed as a beacon of good central banking by the rest of Africa‚ and Kganyago has furthered this.”
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