Cape Town - Former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene says it's vitally important for South Africans to protect the independence of the country's institutions such as the Reserve Bank from “undue influence and capture by unruly elements”.
Delivering the fourth annual Kader Asmal lecture in the city on Wednesday night, Nene said the financial services sector was at the heart of the economy and touched the life of each and every citizen.
He said it enabled economic growth, job creation, the building of vital infrastructure and sustainable development for South Africa.
The current Allan Gray non-executive was axed by President Jacob Zuma in December - a move that sent the rand plummeting. His firing led to disclosures by other officials, including his then deputy, Mcebisi Jonas, of the Gupta family's influence over the government and the issue of state capture.
Nene said a stable financial system was vital to the effective functioning of an economy Asmal, and all those who marshalled the country’s constitution from infancy to the point where it was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly, had ensured the independence of the SA Reserve Bank.
“Stability in this instance refers both to the main institutions and the markets in which they operate. We used to say during the struggle against apartheid that there can be no normal sport in an abnormal society. You cannot have stable institutions in an unstable financial system.”
Nene said there was also a need for visionary leadership and participatory governance mechanisms in order to have a continent where democratic values, culture, practices, justice and the rule of law were entrenched. Good governance emphasised transparency, accountability and participation, Nene said.
Asmal carried South Africa’s constitution in his heart and was never without it, he said: “I recall one instance when he came to address the ANC caucus in Parliament. He explained the clauses of the constitution that were relevant for that day's discussion without reading from the document itself.
“But it was his voice that said it all, capturing not only his deep knowledge of the various clauses of the constitution but his intimacy with the text.”
CAPE TIMES