SA determined to nationalise central bank, Ramaphosa says

South Africa’s ruling party has taken a decision to nationalise the central bank and it will be implemented, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

“We have got to go through processes,” Ramaphosa told parliament in Cape Town on Thursday. “There is no hidden agenda.”

Ramaphosa’s comments come a day after he was scheduled to meet with Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago in Cape Town. Kganyago on Wednesday emphasised the importance of central bank independence in a speech on a university campus.|

South Africa is one of a handful of countries whose central bank is owned by private investors and the move to bring it under the control of its citizens will affirm the nation’s sovereignty, Ramaphosa said.

The rand extended declines after Ramaphosa spoke, declining as much as 0.7% against the dollar. It was 0.5% lower at 14. 3408 per dollar at 2:44 pm in Johannesburg.