The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Today marked new Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus's first day in her new position, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) would like to take this opportunity to wish her well in the post. This is a particularly trying time for monetary policy globally, and within South Africa the situation is even more precarious. This is in large part as a result of certain of the influences that unions have had on South African economic policies recently, which have threatened our ability to tackle poverty and unemployment. Although civic interaction is a cornerstone of South African democracy, we trust that Gill Marcus will make herself answerable to the broader South African interest as Reserve Bank governor, and not just the narrow and selfish interests of lobby groups like Cosatu. The recent G20 memo on Global Economic Prospects and Principles for Policy Exit stressed that government actions around the world should be focused on building "strong, stable and balanced economic growth." A fixed exchange rate, the scrapping of inflation targeting and a 3% Repo rate would certainly not be the way to achieve this, so we hope that cries of populism will be ignored, and that the focus instead will fall on her constitutional mandate of maintaining a stable financial system in South Africa.