Early Breakfast

JOHANNESBURG - The African National Congress (ANC) has cautioned Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to be aware of the implications of his comments about the party’s position to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank.

Mboweni, who is also an NEC member, has tweeted that the ANC adopted the wrong resolution during its policy conference in 2017 by wanting the central bank to be nationalised.

The issue of what purpose the reserve bank should and should not serve has once again played out within the ANC.

Mboweni took to Twitter on Tuesday to ask what the ANC wanted to achieve by nationalising the bank.

As a long standing member of the ANC and its leadership structures, I know and understand our resolutions.I don’t need lectures on that.But on the SARB, I am convinced that we adopted a wrong resolution. What do we want to achieve?Our Strategic focus:Structural Economic Reforms.

— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020

As of now, 90% of the SARB profits are handed over to the National Revenue Fund. So? What do we want to achieve? Tell the public. Lets debate. Dont say internal debates, this is a fundamental National debate.

— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020

Burn me at the stake then.

— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020

Answer the question. What do you want to achieve by nationalizing the SARB. Don’t tell me about internal debates, NEC, etc. what do you want to achieve? Lets answer that fundamental question.

— Tito Mboweni (@tito_mboweni) January 14, 2020

Party spokesperson Pule Mabe said that the leadership of the ANC was expected to be consistent, coherent and united on policy positions.

"The leadership of the ANC is expected to appreciate the need to articulate a consistent, coherent and unified message on policy positions. Unfortunately, public spats initiated without any provocation feeds into the narrative of lack of policy certainty."

ANC leaders counter-attacked each other last year about the mandate of the central bank, with some saying the mandate of the institution should be expanded to include job creation.

The party said that only the ANC national conference had the right and power to change any decisions.

This article first appeared on EWN : ANC warns Mboweni to toe party line on Sarb nationalisation