JOHANNESBURG -The SA Reserve Bank will issue new commemorative notes to mark former president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's centenary, it said on Monday.
''These notes will cover all denominations – R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200. At the same time, the South African Mint, a subsidiary of the SARB, will issue a new R5 circulation coin celebrating Mandela’s birth centenary,'' the SARB said in a statement.
''The new commemorative banknotes and coin will circulate alongside the existing banknotes and coin. It is expected that the commemorative banknotes and coin will be introduced into circulation from July 18.''
Mandela, who died in 2013, would have turned 100 in July.
The governing African National Congress (ANC) has declared 2018 the year of Nelson Mandela to honour and emulate the values of the former states man. The party launched its centenary programme at the Grand Parade in the Cape Town on Sunday, with Mandela's protege, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa delivering a keynote speech.
The day also marked 28 years since Mandela was released from Victor Verster prison after spending 27 years in jail for his role in fighting apartheid.
Central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said the institution was guided by Mandela's values. ''Nelson Mandela represented the best version of ourselves as South Africans. We unveiled the current Mandela series of banknotes in 2012 to honour him."
"While preserving the value of money is our main mandate, our purpose is to be a bastion of institutional strength, contributing to a stable and prosperous economy that serves the well being of all South Africans, and guided in part by Madiba’s values," he added, referring to Mandela by his clan name.