I think this is a very important and beneficial part of the process for several reasons - partly because it is right that in a democratic system public agencies should be required to be open and accountable in explaining their activities; partly because that process hopefully helps to maintain public confidence in the performance of the agency and public support for the objective of low inflation; partly because that in turn should encourage business and individuals to conduct their affairs on the basis that low inflation will be maintained; and partly because openness and accountability helps promote a better public debate on the issues.
These are all elements that I believe help to strengthen the effectiveness of the inflationtargeting process. This framework has, of course, been tested in the past 18 months by the inflationary shocks the economy has faced from the fall in the value of the rand in the latter half of 2001 and the accompanying upwards pressure on food prices and fuel costs.