Cosatu says Marcus guided by the 'spirit of Polokwane'

New South African Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus will implement the policies already in place, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Monday.

“Any change presents an opportunity, but policy is not a function of an individual. Gill Marcus is going to implement the policies that are there.

She is appointed a governor of the Reserve Bank, she will find policy,” Mantashe said at a briefing after a meeting of the ANC’s top brass over the weekend.

Mantashe was asked whether Marcus’ appointment spelled possible changes in policy.

“If there are any changes in policy, in the ANC we take very long to change policy because we subject them to processes. If you want a change, you will have to ensure that you don’t miss the chance of the national general council next year and the policy conference that other year and the national conference in 2012.

“That’s how it works. Not because there is this individual who has tastes, therefore he has the freedom to change policies, it does not work that way,” Mantashe said.

On Sunday, President Jacob Zuma announced Marcus’s appointment with effect from November 9. She replaces Tito Mboweni, who became governor in August 1999, and had made it known that he wanted to vacate the position.

His recent unpopularity among unions arose from monetary policy. It was on Mboweni’s watch that the SARB adopted a target range for inflation of 3% to 6%.

Reacting to the new appointment, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it trusted Marcus would be “guided by the spirit of Polokwane”.

Cosatu said the ANC’s 2007 conference in Polokwane and the policies embodied in the ANC election manifesto were endorsed by an
overwhelming majority of South Africans in the general election in April.

“While the Reserve Bank is constitutionally independent from government, it must not ignore the interests and wishes of the people of South Africa.

“They voted for a manifesto that prioritised economic growth and the creation of decent employment,” Cosatu said.

It said the government was now embarking on policies to implement that manifesto “and we need monetary policies from the Reserve Bank which synchronise with these and not work against them”.

The union federation said it would therefore continue to argue strongly for a shift in policy away from inflation-targeting. - Sapa