South Africa's ANC: monetary policy should factor in growth, jobs and rand

South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) resolved at a party conference that monetary policy should be implemented "in a balanced manner, taking into account growth, employment and exchange rate factors," a document seen by Reuters showed.

Source: Reuters. A delegate stands near a banner during the 55th national conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, 18 December, 2022.

The document on the conference resolutions also said the constitutional independence of the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) must be reaffirmed and that the private ownership of the bank must be corrected in a way that does not enrich speculators or overburden public finances.

There was no mention in the conference resolutions on economic transformation of altering the mandate of the Sarb by means of a constitutional amendment, an issue that has spooked investors in the past because the bank has a strong reputation for acting independently.

The private ownership of the bank must be corrected in a way that does not enrich speculators or overburden public finances.

The central bank's primary focus, as spelled out in the constitution, is currently "to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth".

ANC chairman, Gwede Mantashe last week told Bloomberg that the party wanted the central bank's mandate to be expanded, briefly causing the rand to fall.