Any move towards ‘nationalisation’ would be largely symbolic and would have no impact whatsoever on the SARB’s mandate. The view that the SARB is owned and run in the interest of the private sector is incorrect. Our independence and mandate are enshrined in the Constitution. Whether the SARB has private shareholders or whether all its shares are owned by government, its primary mandate remains.
A considerable number of legal considerations would have to be taken into account if private shareholding were to be removed. The potential purchase of all the SARB shares by government would require the introduction of suitable legislative measures, since the SARB Act does not currently provide for this.