Latest news with #SouthAfricanReserveBankAmendmentBill
Eyewitness News
02-07-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
National Treasury rejects attempts to reform and nationalise SARB
CAPE TOWN - National Treasury has rejected attempts to reform and nationalise the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), warning that it could lead to lawsuits by the bank's foreign shareholders. National Treasury made the submission during public hearings into Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema's private member's bill which calls for the nationalisation of the country's central bank. But Malema's proposal has received support from at least one quarter, with labour federation, COSATU, agreeing that privately held shares in the bank must be expropriated by the state. ALSO READ: Malema's private member's bill to nationalise SARB gets mixed reaction during public hearings The Malema-sponsored South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill not only wants the minister to have more powers over the bank, but it also wants the two million privately held shares transferred to the state. Christopher Axelson, National Treasury's deputy director-general for tax and financial sector policy, said that nationalising the bank could create legal problems at an international level. "And in those bilateral investment treaties, if they were to be expropriated, it would go against those bilateral investment treaties and those foreign investors could potentially take international legal recourse and would take South Africa to court." Axelson said that while the bill does not change the mandate and independence of the reserve bank, there won't be any comfort to current and future investors that this would not happen in the future.
Eyewitness News
02-07-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Malema's private member's bill to nationalise SARB gets mixed reaction during public hearings
Babalo Ndenze 2 July 2025 | 11:33 FILE: EFF leader Julius Malema in Parliament. Picture: Parliament/Phando Jikelo CAPE TOWN - Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema's private member's bill aimed at nationalising the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has a received a mixed reaction during public hearings. Some organisations like labour federation, COSATU, voiced support for Malema's South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, while others warned that it could have serious repercussions for the economy if the current model was tampered with. COSATU, the National Treasury and other organisations made submissions before the Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday, seven years after the bill was first introduced in Parliament. The Standing Committee on Finance continued public hearings on Malema's private member's bill, which was submitted in bill aims to amend the South African Reserve Bank Act and proposes changes to the appointment of the bank's directors. The bill also wants the state to be the sole shareholder of the central bank, which has two million shares held by private and foreign investors. COSATU's Tony Ehrenreich said that they supported this move. "The ownership of the South African Reserve Bank must only be vested with the state in line with international norms." But Christopher Axelson, National Treasury's deputy director-general for tax and financial sector policy, said they don't support the bill, warning that it could have serious implications. "The governance arrangements could also be weaker and may negatively impact the independence of the SARB and so we don't support the bill." The committee will now further process the submissions before a motion on the bill's desirability is considered.
The Citizen
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
What do you think of Malema's Bill to nationalise the Reserve Bank?
If the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill is passed in parliament, there will be no more checks and balances. Parliament wants to know what you think of Julius Malema's Bill aimed at nationalising the South African Reserve Bank. Malema tabled the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill in parliament in 2018 and published for comment at the end of May 2018. However, it lapsed at the end of the fifth parliament, but the National Assembly revived it in October 2019. According to Cabinet, the Bill also lapsed at the end of the sixth parliament but was revived by the National Assembly in July 2024. In September last year, the standing committee on finance resolved to open the Bill to another round of public comment. The South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill seeks to establish the state as the sole shareholder of the Reserve Bank's shares, while the minister of finance will exercise the rights attached to the shares in the bank the state owns. ALSO READ: The ANC's war about nationalising the Reserve Bank is pointless Aims of the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill The South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill also aims to amend the South African Reserve Bank Act to: delete certain definitions; insert a definition; provide for the minister to appoint certain board directors; provide for the tenure of appointed directors; deal with the filling of casual vacancies for appointed directors; repeal certain sections of the Act; give the minister the power to appoint auditors of the Reserve Bank; give the minister the power to make regulations regarding the appointment of appointed directors; and provide for related matters. ALSO READ: Why the Reserve Bank should not be nationalised Free SA already had its say The organisation Free SA already made a formal submission to parliament, expressing its strong opposition to the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, warning that the proposed nationalisation of the central bank threatens the country's economic stability, institutional independence and international credibility. While the Amendment Bill does not alter the Reserve Bank's constitutional mandate to protect the value of the rand, Free SA cautions that it will undermine the very independence that makes this mandate effective. 'An independent central bank is the cornerstone of any credible economic system. Handing full control of the Reserve Bank to political authorities opens the door to fiscal dominance, inflationary pressure and potentially disastrous economic mismanagement,' Reuben Coetzer, spokesperson of Free SA, says. He points out that Free SA's submission details the economic, legal, institutional and reputational risks of centralising the Reserve Bank's governance in the executive. Drawing on examples from Zimbabwe and Venezuela, he says the submission illustrates how loss of central bank independence historically led to hyperinflation, currency collapse and widespread poverty. ALSO READ: The slow nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank Specific dangers in South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill The submission highlights these specific dangers in the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill: Inflation risk: politicised monetary policy could lead to the Reserve Bank financing government deficits, weakening the rand and driving up inflation; Governance concerns: transferring all shareholder powers to the minister of finance eliminates external oversight and invites politicisation of appointments; Legal ambiguity: while technically constitutional, the Bill may undermine the spirit of section 224 of the Constitution, which demands independence 'without fear, favour or prejudice'; Investor flight: market confidence in South Africa's monetary policy regime could erode, resulting in capital outflows and higher borrowing costs. 'Symbolic ownership should not come at the cost of real economic harm. The Reserve Bank is one of South Africa's most respected institutions. Undermining its independence, whether deliberately or by accident, will hurt ordinary South Africans most, especially the poor who suffer first and worst from inflation.' Coetzer says Free SA calls on all members of parliament to reject the Amendment Bill and to uphold the constitutional and economic safeguards that protect South Africa's monetary integrity. 'Reform should focus on strengthening accountability and transparency within the Reserve Bank, not eroding the institutional checks that preserved macroeconomic stability through some of the country's most turbulent years.'
IOL News
30-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Bill to nationalise the Reserve Bank faces public scrutiny
The nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will come up for discussion in Parliament this week Image: Pixabay THE public has until midday on Monday to make written submissions and indications for oral submission when the finance standing committee holds a public hearing to amend the law governing the central bank this week. The bill, a private member's first introduced in Parliament by EFF leader Julius Malema, seeks to amend the SARB Act to make the State the sole shareholder of the shares in the bank. The Parliament programme shows that the Standing Committee on Finance will hold public hearings on the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill in a virtual meeting platform on Wednesday. The hearing comes after members of the public, stakeholders and stakeholders were given an opportunity to comment on the SARB amendment bill until June 30. The bill was first introduced in Parliament in August 2018, but it lapsed in May 2019 during the end of the sixth Parliament only to be revived in October the same year. In 2020, the EFF and the parliamentary legal services had briefed the standing committee on finance on the bill and conducted a first round of public hearings, which were held in November 2018. But, the bill lapsed four years later in May 2024 in the sixth Parliament and then got revived again in July 2024. After the EFF pushed for the bill to be on the parliamentary programme for consideration in the new administration, the standing committee on finance resolved in September last year to conduct a second round of public hearings after it was briefed by the Parliamentary Budget Office on its analysis and assessment of the bill's socio-economic impact The bill, in its current form, seeks to delete certain definitions in SARB Act and provide for the appointment of certain board of directors by the Minister of Finance. "A current director of the bank or any member of the general public may nominate persons to serve as appointed directors of the bank in the manner as may be prescribed," reads the bill, adding that appointed board directors shall hold office for three years. The bill proposes that the State should be sole shareholder of shares in the SARB. 'The rights attached to the shares in the bank must be exercised by the Minister on behalf of the State."
IOL News
29-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
What the proposed changes to the South African Reserve Bank mean for South Africa
The nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will come up for discussion in Parliament this week Image: Pixabay The nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will come up for discussion in Parliament this week when the finance standing committee holds a public hearing to amend the law governing the central bank. The bill, a private member's first introduced in Parliament by EFF leader Julius Malema, seeks to amend the SARB Act to make the State the sole shareholder of the shares in the bank. The Parliament programme shows that the Standing Committee on Finance will hold public hearings on the South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill in a virtual meeting platform on Wednesday. The hearing comes after members of the public, stakeholders and stakeholders were given an opportunity to comment on the SARB amendment bill until June 30. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Those still wishing to make written submissions and indications to make oral submission have until Monday at 12 midday to do so. The bill was first introduced in Parliament in August 2018, but it lapsed in May 2019 during the end of the sixth Parliament only to be revived in October the same year. In 2020, the EFF and the parliamentary legal services had briefed the standing committee on finance on the bill and conducted a first round of public hearings, which were held in November 2018. But, the bill lapsed four years later in May 2024 in the sixth Parliament and then got revived again in July 2024. After the Red Berets pushed for the bill to be on the parliamentary programme for consideration in the new administration, the standing committee on finance resolved in September last year to conduct a second round of public hearings after it was briefed by the Parliamentary Budget Office on its analysis and assessment of the bill's socio-economic impact. When there was no progress in processing of the South African Reserve Bank Bill, EFF MP Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi took up the matter with the National Assembly Programme Committee towards the end of March and was promised a response at the next meeting. Whereas House Chairperson Cedric Frolick had indicated in April that the Standing Committees had been prioritising the processing of the report on fiscal framework and revenue proposals, an advertisement was placed for public comments from June 3 ahead of the public hearing this Wednesday. The bill, in its current form, seeks to delete certain definitions in SARB Act and provide for the appointment of certain board of directors rectors by the Minister of Finance. "A current director of the bank or any member of the general public may nominate persons to serve as appointed directors of the bank in the manner as may be prescribed," reads the bill, adding that appointed board directors shall hold office for three years. The bill proposes that the State should be sole shareholder of shares in the SARB. 'The rights attached to the shares in the bank must be exercised by the Minister on behalf of the State." The SARB's shareholders were 650 when the bill was introduced in Parliament. The bill also provides that the Minister shall appoint two firms of public accounts to act as auditors of the SARB for every financial year.
