The Reserve Bank is one of only eight central banks in the world with private shareholders. The others are in Belgium, Greece, Italy, Japan, San Marino, Switzerland and Turkey.
The debate about shareholding in the Reserve Bank centres around the issue of nationalisation. Some political players, such as the third largest party — the EFF — are calling for the ownership of the Bank to be transferred from current private shareholders to the government and has tabled a bill in parliament to achieve this objective.
The issue is very charged. But it's also confused and not very well understood. There's an assumption that a change of ownership would automatically mean a change in the role the Bank plays. This isn't the case because, in fact, the Bank's shareholders play no role in its mandate. In that sense, it doesn't matter who the shareholders are, because they can't affect its mandate; nationalisation won't affect the independence of the Bank.
The Bank also adheres to an inflation target put in place in 2000. This requires it to keep inflation within a band of 3% to 6%. The Bank uses monetary policy and interest-rate decisions to achieve this objective. In short, when the inflationary trend declines, the interest rate declines and when the inflationary trend increases, the interest rate increases.
The issue of the Bank's focus on keeping inflation within this band — and the fact that its mandate sets out clearly that managing inflation is its core job — is hotly contested.
Those on the left of the political spectrum, including the country's largest trade union federation, argue that the Bank shouldn't focus primarily on inflation. Instead, they say, it should also be taking account of economic growth as well as the employment rate in the country.
The Bank's mandate is crucial in another respect: its ability to pursue its mandate without interference from the government is how its independence is measured.
The Reserve Bank has acted on the whim of politicians before. It didn't end well.
In the 1980s, inflation rose dramatically, resulting in the country suffering its highest inflation rates ever: on average, about 15% per year for the decade.
The government's interference was dramatically brought to light ahead of a by-election in 1984 in the Johannesburg suburb of Primrose. Just prior to the by-election, the government instructed the Bank to drop the interest rate. This subsequently became known as the Primrose Prime incident.
The debates swirling around the Bank have created uncertainty. This is despite reassurances from President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The president needs to do more: he also needs to establish certainty about the executive management of the Bank.
An executive vacancy at the Bank, created by the resignation of one of the deputy governors, Francois Groepe, must be filled as a matter of urgency. And the president should make clear his intention to re-appoint the governor, Lesetja Kganyago, and the deputy governor, Daniel Mminele, whose terms expire this year.
These appointments are under the purview of the president. The South African Reserve Bank Act stipulates that the president must fill executive positions after consultation with the finance minister and the Bank's board.
SA needs stability at the Reserve Bank to ensure a growth trajectory for the country. The president should get the process of filling the vacancy and providing certainty about the future of Kganyago and Mminele underway sooner rather than later.
WATCH: Can a nationalised Reserve Bank retain its independence?