If we as the SARB bought R500 billion of government bonds, at par, and then sterilised them at the repo rate, we would be insolvent in about a year.17 For this reason, taking the perspective of the broader public sector balance sheet, these operations would add to National Treasury’s already large need to borrow.
As on other occasions in European history, this crisis offers a chance to progress; we must be ready to act on it. Let us not waste this opportunity to advance European integration.