Time to rethink BoB�s mandate?

The South African Public Protector, an agency related to our own Ombudsman, sparked a storm recently when it proposed constitutional changes that move the SA Reserve Bank’s mandate from its current focus on protecting the Rand and inflation-targeting to “promoting balanced and sustainable economic growth, while ensuring that the socio-economic well-being of citizens is protected”.

Outraged economists, bankers and other monetary policy experts reacted strongly to the Public Protector’s recommendations, with several lawsuits being filed amidst reports of fixed capital flight and rand erosion in that country.

That dust-storm aside, the goings-on in South Africa echo a similar debate in the local economy a few years ago that was effectively muted by the then leadership of the Bank of Botswana (BoB).

Editor's Comment
Human rights are sacred

It highlights the need to protect rights such as access to clean water, education, healthcare and freedom of expression.President Duma Boko, rightly honours past interventions from securing a dignified burial for Gaoberekwe Pitseng in the CKGR to promoting linguistic inclusion. Yet, they also expose a critical truth, that a nation cannot sustainably protect its people through ad hoc acts of compassion alone.It is time for both government and the...

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